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Vol. 56 • No. 34 • August 20-26, 2026

Mix bar to continue using Patronscan – but will pause camera feature by John Ferrannini

Laird, courtesy the subject; Cervantes, from Facebook

State Senators John Laird, left, and Sabrina Cervantes saw their bills advance in the Legislature.

Slew of LGBTQ bills head to floor votes by Matthew S. Bajko

he suspense is over for authors of various LGBTQ bills who were waiting to see if they’d survive the California Legislature’s fiscal review process. They are now to be taken up for floor votes in the two chambers, with legislators racing to meet their August 31 deadline to send legislation to Governor Gavin Newsom to sign into law. As the Bay Area Reporter noted earlier this month, a number of bills related to LGBTQ issues had been placed on the suspense file by the two appropriations committees due to their estimated costs to implement. While the panels in the state Assembly and Senate ended up advancing them, it remains to be seen if Newsom will use his veto pen on the bills. The Democrat, who is termed out of office this year, has a history of axing bills that come with a price tag. As an expected candidate for his party’s presidential nomination in 2028, Newsom may take an even more penny-pinching approach to his review of legislation this year to bolster his fiscal restraint bona fides ahead of mounting a national race. One of the more closely watched bills advancing is Senate Bill 1023 by gay state Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) aimed at addressing hiccups with insurance policies covering the cost of an injectable form of the HIV prevention medication PrEP. Some health plans restrict injectable PrEP coverage to their medical benefit for policyholders, which causes problems for nonprofit service providers that furnish it via their own pharmacies in recouping their costs for doing so. Laird’s bill moved off the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s suspense file August 13 and will now head to a floor vote in the Assembly. One of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus’ priority bills this session, it is co-sponsored by gay outgoing Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the Department of Insurance, statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality California, and nonprofit healthcare providers the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, AIDS Project LA Health, and LA LGBT Center. See page 7 >>

he final Castro area-bar currently using Patronscan is pausing using the technology to take pictures of patrons entering during peak hours, but will retain the ID scan function. That function verifies whether a government-issued identification is valid. Nick Kealy, a gay man who is manager of The Mix at 4086 18th Street, is frustrated at the blowback the bar has received for using Patronscan to take pictures to verify IDs as part of the entry process. Criticism has come as some have stated the technology involves facial recognition, which Patronscan denies. Kealy’s announcement comes after Badlands and Toad Hall, the other two LGBTQ bars that used Patronscan, paused the technology entirely last week. A meeting August 12 convened by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman’s office about the use of the technology didn’t include any of the bars involved. (Mandelman is away on vacation, but his staff held the meeting.) As a result of the meeting, a survey has been sent to Castro area bars and nightclubs. “This has gotten out of hand,” Kealy stated in a letter to the B.A.R. August 13, referring to controversy over the cameras, which he argued helps keep the bar’s employees safe. “We will always listen to legitimate concerns, but we will not surrender their

Steven Underhill

The manager of The Mix bar in the Castro has paused use of camera technology to take photos of patrons, but will use the ID function.

safety to hypothetical scenarios, misinformation, or inaccurate claims about technology that has clearly made our workplace safer. We have a responsibility to the people who work for us, and we will not be bullied or pressured into compromising their safety. We will not overlook that responsibility to satisfy critics who refuse to engage with the facts, no matter how loud they get.”

Privacy group Fight for the Future characterized Patronscan as running “AI face scanners,” and called for a boycott of the businesses using it, after a June 10 article in Gazetteer SF titled, “Why do these Castro gay bars have TSA-style face scanners?” brought the matter to attention online. https://sf.gazetteer.co/why-do-thesecastro-gay-bars-have-tsa-style-face-scanners Kealy stated, “This product does not use facial recognition. It does not use biometrics. It does not face scan. Full stop.” In a statement Patronscan says that the image that’s captured at the time of the ID scan is so that the person working the door can compare it with the picture on the patron’s physical ID. The image “is deleted along with all other personal information at the end of the data retention period – in California, this is 21 days,” the company stated. Patronscan claims not to perform a biometric scan of facial geometry either, an accusation that was the subject of a class action suit against the company that it settled in Illinois. The 2023 lawsuit involved Patronscan and allegations under the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act, or BIPA. The company stated on its website that the lawsuit was settled for $3,000 and did not admit wrongdoing. The company stated that it has not deployed facial recognition technology in Illinois or any other state. See page 7 >>

Oakland Pride Parade deemed a success as crowds fill streets by George Faville

t’s hard to tell who enjoyed Oakland’s Pride Parade more, the marchers or the spectators. The flag waving seemed about as enthusiastic on both sides of the pavement. Besides, at the festival afterward everyone was in the same lines, singing along at the same stages, and posing under the same “Oakland Pride” rainbow. The Oakland LGBTQ+ Community Center this year moved up Pride from the usual date in September, with the theme of “Celebrating Pride, Power, and People.” Following the parade down Broadway from 21st Street to 14th Street came a festival from noon to 6 p.m. Centered at Frank Ogawa Plaza outside City Hall, it had three stages for performances, an array of food trucks, merchant and information booths, and more. In the morning, before the first engine turned, the excitement was already thick. Marchers in their matching T-shirts cluttered in loose circles around firetrucks bedecked with rainbow-beads, gleaming motorcycles, and several souped-up convertibles. They chatted with each other while the San Francisco Pride Band, the city’s official band, warmed up down on Franklin Street, competing with blasting speakers and impromptu pep talks in the adjacent streets. The parade commenced at 10:47, led down Broadway by Bruthas Rising, an Oakland support group

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Members of Dykes on Bikes and Soul Fire Dyke Motorcycle Club roared up Broadway during the Oakland Pride Parade August 16.

founded in 2014 for transmen of color by Sean Saxton and Quenton Hadley, both Black trans men. It offers peer support, HIV testing, health advocacy and resource sharing. After founding the East Bay Trans March this year, the group partnered with Oakland Pride. Pride is usually led by motorcycle groups like Dykes on Bikes and Soul Fire Dyke Motorcycle Club, both of which did take part this year.

“We’re all in a struggle together, especially now with our political temperature,” said Nora Green, a lesbian who’s president and founding member of Soul Fire, before the march began. The group has been riding in the East Bay for 26 years. “We might have individual clubs and we might be individuals, but we come together, especially around celebrating See page 3 >>

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2 • Bay Area Reporter • August 20-26, 2026

Assault claim hangs over D8 candidate forum by John Ferrannini

he sexual assault allegation against one of the four candidates for San Francisco District 8 supervisor hung over a public town hall forum featuring the aspirants August 12. A heckler interrupted the proceedings after the candidates were asked to weigh in on the matter, while the accuser himself looked on. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Emanuel “Manny” Yekutiel denies the claim made by one-time political activist Brad Joseph Chapin that the now-candidate assaulted him at a 2020 house party. Yekutiel, a gay man, is running to represent the Castro, Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, Twin Peaks, part of Cole Valley, and other neighborhoods on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in the November 3 election. Incumbent gay Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, also currently board president, is termed out of office and has stuck by his sole endorsement of Yekutiel in the race. Police have told the B.A.R. that the assault allegation is open but the investigation is inactive. The event was hosted outside as the fog rolled in, shortly before sundown, in the Noe Valley Town Square. It was sponsored by the United Democratic Club, and moderated by Patrick Hoge of the San Francisco Examiner. As his first question, Hoge asked the candidates about the accusation, with Yekutiel going first and strenuously denying the allegation with Chapin seated in the audience, visibly recording the exchange. “These allegations are untrue. I take

John Ferrannini

At an August 12 candidate forum Brad Joseph Chapin, left center holding cellphone, recorded District 8 supervisor contender Emanuel “Manny” Yekutiel, seated at center, responding to a question about Chapin’s allegation of sexual assault by him, which Yekutiel denies.

the allegations very seriously, and I’ve always said that victims deserve to be heard,” Yekutiel said. “But as the SF Chronicle reported, the police investigated the allegations, they found nothing, and decided not to bring charges to the DA, and that is because the allegations are untrue and patently false.” Chapin alleged that in February 2020, at a Studio 54-themed event both parties said was not a sex party, Yekutiel grabbed him by the testicles and would not let go. Then, after attempting penetration with his finger, pushed him away, scoffing. There were no eyewitnesses. Yekutiel told the B.A.R. he was briefly at the party in question, but that, “I didn’t do what’s being described here.”

Chapin told the B.A.R. after the debate, “The attacks on my character are, I believe, a desperate, politically-motivated attempt at self-preservation intended to intimidate other survivors and prevent them from coming forward. I’m doing my best to overcome that intimidation.” The other candidates declined to weigh in on the substance of the allegation, but did express support for sexual assault survivors. In her answer to Hoge’s question touching on the matter, Darshini Patel, a bi queer woman, talked about a culture that doesn’t believe victims when it’s convenient. “As a woman, I am intimately familiar with sexual assault, sexual harassment, and how hard it can be to come forward,” Patel said. “I think that what it

forces us to really think about is the culture we have created, where we have a hard time believing survivors and want to be able to trust whoever … these allegations are against.” Patel pointed out that in 2025 only 14% of rape cases in San Francisco were closed, according to reporting from the San Francisco Standard. “It makes it difficult for anyone to even want to come forward,” she said. “Why do that if you probably won’t even be listened to? So what this has forced for me is more of a conversation around trauma response and around the behavior of assault.” Patel offered to share resources with “anyone in the audience who is experiencing anything.” Candidate Gary McCoy, a gay man, deferred to the ongoing San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee investigation. Chapin said he reported the incident to the party’s new ombudsman position but never got a response. The local party is looking into that. “I would defer to that,” McCoy said. “But I would say we should always believe survivors.” Michael Trung Nguyen, a gay patent attorney whose drag persona is Juicy Liu, is an elected member of the DCCC. He was on the special committee that created the new system for people to report incidences of sexual harassment after several prominent local Democrats were accused of troubling behavior, including former City Hall aide Jon Jacobo; Kevin Ortiz, who was co-president of the San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club; and Shahid Buttar, a progres-

sive who ran against Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) in 2020. The new process has been criticized for failing its first public test, as Chapin made a complaint that was not investigated until media reports brought the matter to the fore. “It was new,” Nguyen said. “So I’m glad it’s happened, but we can clearly see the big takeaway is that it’s flawed, and we deserve better. Folks who come forward deserve better.” Later in the evening, Jesus Coba, a straight Mission district resident, began to heckle Yekutiel while recording on his cellphone, the only such instance of heckling during the 90-minute event. Yekutiel talked through Coba’s remarks, during which he said, among other things, “This man … has no shame in coming to the public and showing the face until he clears his name.” Coba was asked to leave by event organizers. Coba spoke with the B.A.R. as he was leaving, and expressed upset that this reporter was also recording the public conversation. “I’m just a concerned citizen, born and raised in the Mission district of San Francisco,” he said. “That guy’s accused of sexual assault. That’s disgusting.” A look at Coba’s Instagram account reveals a video of a June confrontation with gay state Senator Scott Wiener (DSan Francisco) over Israel, shortly before Wiener was heckled out of the Trans March at Mission Dolores Park. (Wiener, a former District 8 supervisor, running to succeed Pelosi, has not endorsed in this year’s contest.) t

Point of Pride opens trans health funding compiled by Cynthia Laird

rans people in need of genderaffirming and wellness services can now apply to the Point of Pride’s Thrive Fund. A news release noted that funding is available for a variety of needs, including fertility preservation and voice therapy. The Bay Area Reporter previously reported on Point of Pride on the occasion of its 10th anniversary. The nonprofit is run by two trans men, Jeff Main and Aydian Dowling. The Thrive Fund, which was launched in 2024, can be used for expenses that fall outside of Point of Pride’s existing healthcare funds, the release stated. These may include legal fees for name and gender marker changes, fertility preservation, vocal therapy, and medical tattooing, a

Courtesy Point of Pride

Jeff Main is executive director of Point of Pride.

specialized restorative procedure. Applicants may request up to $2,500 at a time. Since 2024, the Thrive Fund has awarded $116,000, the release noted. “We heard a real need from people in our community,” stated Main. “Even

when someone can afford certain aspects of gender-affirming healthcare, there are often other essential expenses that they are struggling to afford. The Thrive Fund was designed to help people fill these gaps, bringing them one step closer to feeling comfortable in their bodies and in their communities.” Point of Pride itself has awarded $6.3 million in financial support and helped 30,000 people across all 50 states and globally, the release pointed out. The Thrive Fund is not intended for surgery costs; Point of Pride has a separate transgender surgery fund, for which the application process will open November 1. The deadline to apply for the Thrive Fund is Monday, August 31. To apply, visit pointofpride.org/thrivefund#apply.

Memorial set for James ‘Jet’ Tressler

A memorial and exhibition of James “Jet” Tressler’s artwork will be later this month, friends said. Mr. Tressler, a gay man, died in November 2024 of natural causes. He was 80. Eric Noble, a friend, stated that an exhibition of Mr. Tressler’s art and films will take place Friday, August 28, and Saturday, August 29, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. That will be followed by a memorial Sunday, August 30, from 2 to 8 p.m.

Eric Noble

James “Jet” Tressler at the 2020 anniversary of the Cockettes

All the events take place at Kadist Gallery, 3295 20th Street (at Folsom) in San Francisco. Mr. Tressler was an influential figure in San Francisco’s counterculture and free-theater movements, Noble wrote in an obituary. Through his work with the Diggers, the Kaliflower Commune, the Angels of Light, and the Noh Penny Opera soup kitchens, Mr. Tressler found his own way of bringing together theater, food, political conviction, and community. “Jet’s artistic and political awakening came at a time when many of his generation were turning against the Vietnam War and questioning conventional American values,” Noble stated. In 1966, Mr. Tressler joined the Diggers in San Francisco, who were working to create a Free City of communal families based on mutual aid. At the Kaliflower Commune, Mr. Tressler worked with Ralph Sauer and George Harris, known as Hibiscus, within the communal world established by Irving Rosenthal. Together they explored a form of theatrical self-presentation that came to be known as genderfuck. Hibiscus went on to found the Cockettes, a flamboyant theater troupe that combined drag, surrealism, and countercultural rebellion. In his later years, Mr. Tressler worked to preserve the history of the Angels of Light theater company that performed for free. His films include the 1972 “Kaliflower Intercommunal Carnival,” at which the Angels performed “Peking on Acid,” as well as the 1973 performances of “Deep Frieze” and “Comets You Are.” The films capture some of the strange beauty, humor, and theatrical freedom the Angels brought to the stage. Mr. Tressler preserved them so that people who had never seen the troupe perform could still encounter its work and perhaps find something useful in its radical spirit. His film archive is now preserved in Stanford University Libraries’ Special Collections, where it will remain available to future generations. The archive

also includes Mr. Tressler’s personal papers, artwork, writing, and family history materials. For a history of the Angels of Light, visit diggers.org/angels_of_light-history.htm.

North Bay LGBTQ center to host poetry event

The Marin LGBTQ Center will hold “Queerly Spoken,” a poetry program, Saturday, August 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the center, 709 Fifth Avenue in San Rafael. An announcement noted the event will be headlined by celebrated queer poets, and also include an open mic portion where people can read their own LGBTQ poetry. Participating poets include Ezra Bell, a queer neurodivergent person, who is a 2026-2027 Marin Poetry Center Youth poet laureate ambassador and high school junior; Frances Sveinson, also a Marin Poetry Center Youth poet laureate ambassador and awardwinning poet; and Shelley Wong, a San Franciscobased poet and author of “As She Appears” (2022), which was long-listed for the National Book Award, and the winner of the Lambda Literary Award for lesbian poetry. Karen Poppy, who is nonbinary, is a poet, attorney, and librettist on Laura Dixon Strickling’s Grammy-nominated album “40@40” She has three chapbooks, which are small booklets of poems, and two full-length collections. The evening will also honor the late poet Joseph Zaccardi, who died in 2025 and was a Marin County poet laureate (2013-2015). Poppy will share a photo presentation about her friend along with a reading of selected poems. There is no cost to attend the event. Everyone is welcome, the announcement stated. For more information, contact events@marinlgbtqcenter.org. t

Pride 2026 >>

August 20-26, 2026 • Bay Area Repor ter • 3

Rivera honored at Stonewall Pride breakfast by Cynthia Laird

oaquín Rivera was grateful as he accepted the Peggy Moore Trailblazer Award at the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club’s annual Pride Breakfast August 16. Rivera, a gay man, stepped off the Alameda County Board of Education in June, and is the longestserving LGBTQ elected education official in the county. He was first elected to the county board in 2010, and before that served on the Berkeley school board for 12 years. He was a college professor for 32 years. On the county board, Rivera represented Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, and parts of North and West Oakland. “It’s a great honor,” Rivera told the Bay Area Reporter at the event, held at the gay-owned Fluid 510 LGBTQ bar at 1544 Broadway. State Senator Jesse Arreguín (DBerkeley) was on hand to present Rivera with a legislative proclamation. “For a long time, he was one of the only Latinx officials,” Arreguín told the audience. “He is a trailblazer.” Eileen McDonald, a straight ally who serves on the county board representing Fremont, Newark, and other communities, pointed out in an interview that Rivera also served on the California School Boards Association for many years. McDonald has served in the elected post for 24 years and is not up for reelection this year. She and Rivera served together for 16 years, she noted. “He’s been an inspiration,” McDonald said. “His leadership style is unmatched.” Rivera attended the breakfast with his husband, Joel Cohen, who works as a respiratory therapist. He, too, was proud of his husband.

Sean Dugar

Joaquín Rivera delivered remarks after receiving the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club’s Peggy Moore Trailblazer Award. He was joined on stage by, from left, incoming club PAC Chair Jordan Long, state Senator Jesse Arreguín, and club member James Barolo.

The club also honored the recently opened Black Panther Party Museum https://www.blackpantherpartymuseum.org/ with its Frontline Changemaker Award, which was accepted by Fredrika Newton, the widow of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton and president of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation, which founded and manages the museum at 1427 Broadway. “I am so proud to be here to honor the legacy of my late husband,” she said. Newton talked about how her late husband took an unpopular stand in 1970 when he supported the gay liberation movement. “He caught hell for it,” Newton said, adding that the museum works to explore ways to liberate the oppressed, including fighting homophobia and transphobia. The All Blues Women’s Rugby Club based in Berkeley was recognized with the Community Voice Award. Ceara Lafferty, who identifies as queer and nonbinary, spoke for the organization. The All Blues supports trans ath-

letes, Lafferty noted. “Support your local sports teams that support trans athletes because we all deserve to play,” they said. The club’s Ally Award went to state Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward), who was unable to attend. Wahab faces a special election Tuesday, August 18, to fill the term of disgraced former congressmember Eric Swalwell through the end of the year. She also placed first in the June primary for the full two-year term and will be on the November 3 ballot in that race. Annie Koruga, a lesbian and Wahab supporter, told attendees that Wahab “has the community’s back.”

Speakers

The Stonewall club’s breakfast was earlier than usual this year because Oakland Pride was moved up to August 16 from its former September date. The club has traditionally held its breakfast the morning of the Pride Parade, which necessitated the date change this year. Congressmember Lateefah Simon (D-Oakland) gave an impassioned

speech that recalled Huey Newton’s actions. “Huey Newton stood in the square at Cal and told his own party – the Black Panther Party – that there would never be a revolution if the revolution isolates queer people,” Simon said. Simon also talked about the 2002 murder of transgender teen Gwen Araujo in the East Bay city of Newark. “Almost 24 years ago, four men beat and strangled Gwen Araujo,” said Simon. “She was 17 years old. Her mother buried her daughter under the name she chose.” Simon, a straight ally, added, “I’m humbled that I’m accepted by the queer community. There will never be a time that I’ll vote against the self-determination of queer people. You sent me to Congress to speak the truth.” She added that Republicans and some Democrats “are so obsessed with the genitalia of trans people. ... We always fight back and make sure the country hears us.” Oakland City Councilmember Charlene Wang also addressed attendees. She pointed out an August 14 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal ruling that the U.S. Department of Justice can order a clinic to release records of doctors who provide gender-affirming care and patients who receive it, as the San Francisco Chronicle noted in an article.

She said that the City Council recently passed a resolution calling on Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health to provide gender-affirming care. Both health providers paused such care last year, though Sutter reversed its decision after community outcry. “This community knows what to do when our backs are against the wall,” said Wang, adding that the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City paved the way for resistance and protest. “The only way to fight a bully is to fight back, and organize,” she said. “It means running for office.” Wang, who won a special election last year to represent District 2 after former councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas was elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, is up for reelection November 3 for a four-year term. She will face East Bay Democratic Socialists of America cochair Nate Adams. District 2 includes Chinatown, Little Saigon, Lakeshore, Crocker Highlands, and Jack London Square. Wang also gave a shout out to the B.A.R.’s recent story on LGBTQ-related bills making their way through the Legislature. “Most bills are being advanced by members of our community,” she noted. t

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Oakland Pride

From page 1

Pride and Oakland. This was important for all of us to get together, differences aside, and be here as one cohesive group to support Oakland.” It’s a sentiment that blanketed the event. The crowd came in all the community’s diversity. Some brought elaborate costumes and others fold-out chairs and drinks. Between cheering for the floats, they chatted with their friends and partners or watched over kids. “It’s great weather and a nice community,” said Lowin Miclat, a gay man from San Jose watching the parade from the sidewalk with friends. He’s been to Silicon Valley Pride, San Francisco Pride, and others held on the East Coast, and added that Oakland felt more “intimate.” Other festivalgoers said the event felt more community based, down to earth, and supportive than other Prides they have gone to. “I feel more at home here,” said Pamela Spevack, a lesbian watching the parade.

Center takes the reins

The LGBTQ center took the reins for Oakland Pride and moved its date into August after the old Oakland Pride Board of Directors voted to dissolve itself earlier this year. That change had prompted fears of lower attendance, but they were apparently overblown. Brandon Harami, a gay man and Oakland Pride’s director of operations, wrote in an email on Monday that the parade and festival brought well over 10,000 people to the city’s downtown. He added that the events team said this year’s parade attendance was a new high. “Everyone who comes to Oakland Pride knows that it’s going to be a good time. It’s going to be community-centered.” said Oakland City Councilmember Rowena Brown, a queer woman who served as a grand marshal in this year’s parade. She said it was a huge honor and privilege to be recognized for her work. “I try in everything that I’m doing to help uplift the community,” she said. Last weekend Brown was also a

Shelley_S_Feinberg_2x2_032025.indd 1

George Faville

Onlookers encouraged people who participated in a dyke arm wrestling contest during the Oakland Pride festival.

sponsor of the K. Stewart OUT + EXCELLENT conference, which brought together “LGBTQIA+ champions, allies, entrepreneurs, culture creators, parents, and community leaders to share honest stories of becoming, achieving, and belonging,” according to its website. (Brown has recovered from injuries she sustained in an alleged attack last month by an acquaintance, Ahshatae Millhouse, who has pleaded not guilty to charges.) Other grand marshals included Valentino Carillo, a gay man who owns the nightclubs Qué Rico and Next Level and has been one of the producers of the Latin stage since the beginning of Oakland Pride, and DJ Lady Ryan, the official DJ for the Golden State Valkyries and owner of the club Golden Ratio. Harami said the events went smoothly.

“I was incredibly happy with the turnout and the overall festival and parade,” Harami wrote in the email. “I was happy to see that we had space for everyone, including families and people who want to get a little sexy, as well as some incredible acts. Every stage had an incredible lineup of local and national artists.”

Festival

The festival grounds held a main stage, a house music stage, and a Latin stage. Walking between them, festivalgoers could stop at a food truck parked at 14th and Clay streets or one of the three bars for a drink. Those over 21 could also visit Sexytown to watch a dyke arm wrestling match or one of the performers in the mock wrestling ring get hit with chains. See page 8 >>

Correction The article “Queer SF BART Director Li to depart” first published online August 10 should have stated Sara Barz is a former San Francisco County Transportation Authority Community Advisory Committee member; she had been nominated to the SF Municipal Transportation Agency board but was not seated on it. Also, on August 13, Janice Li formally endorsed Barz, the lone person to file for the race. The online version has been updated.

3/13/25 7:45 PM

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CMS rule will harm trans youth

he federal Centers for Medicare and affirming care and patients who receive Medicaid Services’ new final rule it. This decision has the potential to stifle restricts federal funding for medically doctor-patient privilege, and puts both necessary healthcare for transgender physicians and patients in the sights of a minors. It’s not surprising, as it’s just the federal government who is actively going latest blow to gender-affirming care in after trans people, adults and youth alike. the U.S. It also adds to the voluminous The CMS rulemaking has been evidence that President Donald Trump broadly condemned by LGBTQ advoand his administration will stop at nothcates. Dannie Ceseña, who is Two-Spirit ing to hinder care for trans youth. and Native, is director of the California From Facebook It’s despicable. And even if you’re not Dr. Mehmet Oz is LGBTQ Health and Human Services trans, you should be concerned about the administrator Network. “This ruling is a dangerous atthis development. It’s similar to the of the Centers tack rooted entirely in anti-trans rhetodrastic actions some states have used on for Medicare and ric rather than science, blatantly ignorwomen and their reproductive choices. Medicaid Services. ing the established medical consensus Put simply, the federal government, in that supports gender-affirming care as this case, is mandating what can and safe and essential,” Ceseña stated. Such can’t be funded through Medicare and Medicaid, care includes hormone therapies. and this will result in thousands of people The new rule is unusual, noted Katie Keith, without access to healthcare. director of the Center for Health Policy at Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of Georgetown. Keith told NPR, “I’m not CMS, explained the agency’s reasoning in aware of any other times that the federal a social media video. government has prohibited federal funds in “When the harms of sex-rejecting prothis way for a specific patient population with cedures are so serious and the evidence is a particular diagnosis.” weak, the government cannot keep signThe World Professional Association for ing these checks,” he said. Transgender Health, the American AcadOz, of course, rose to fame courtesy of emy of Pediatrics, and the American PsyOprah Winfrey’s old TV show, where he chological Association are just a few of the peddled unverified medical treatments and dietary medical groups that support gender-affirming care. supplements. But that fits right in with the Trump Gay Congressmember Mark Takano (D-Riveradministration’s emphasis on pseudoscience. side), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, At issue here is cutting funding for gender-affirmblasted the new rule as “just another cruel, overreaching medical care through Medicaid, for youth under ing attack by an administration hell-bent on making a 18, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or small, vulnerable minority of Americans’ lives worse.” CHIP, for those under 19. The irony is that the rule alHe vowed to continue fighting for the right of families lows the same medications and treatments to remain to make their own medical decisions. federally funded when prescribed for other medical And, at a time when the Trump administration purposes, as statewide LGBTQ rights group Equality has caved to MAHA families skeptical of childhood California pointed out in a statement. “This double vaccines by decreasing the number recommended standard exposes the policy for what it is: discrimithrough an executive order Trump signed – also at nation dressed up as healthcare policy,” stated Tony the expense of science – the new CMS rule is a new Hoang, a gay man who is EQCA’s executive director. high in hypocrisy since other families won’t be able “This is a politically motivated attack that inserts polito make medical choices simply because Trump ticians into decisions that should be made between hates trans people. It’s that simple. parents, patients, and their doctors.” California leading the way Although that, too, is now in doubt as the result of California is once again leading the way, in spite a decision last week by a three-judge panel of the 9th of the CMS rule. The California LGBTQ Health and U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 2-1 decision alHuman Services Network noted that the rule does lows the U.S. Department of Justice to order a clinic not change California law or prohibit providers to release records of doctors who provide gender-

Commit to the bit by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

been a hot-button one ever since the right has ramped up its anti-trans ow, I have to admit, I’m not big campaign over the last few years. It has into sports, but this summer has been remarkably scant of actual transbeen an interesting one for WNBA fans, gender sports figures – Lia Thomas, a particularly for those who follow the Intrans woman who tied for fifth with the diana Fever. aforementioned Gaines in a collegiate Apparently feeling slighted with all swim meet, being one of the only ones. the attention on her star teammate, CaitIt has been so lacking in substance that lin Clark, Indiana Fever guard Sophie athletes who are not transgender have Christine Smith Cunningham said, during an interview been brought into the argument, such with ESPN that was recorded in March and released as women’s track and field medalist Caster Semein July, that she wants “to protect young girls in a nya, or Olympian boxer Imane Khalif. locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t Again, there just aren’t a lot of pro-level trans have to go against biological men.” women in sports, and none in the WNBA. She followed this up in July by doubling down Enter male former professional basketball playin remarks to other reporters, claiming ers Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce that her words were a “kind of common White. sense.” Freedom is a 34-year-old former “I think it’s really important to protect NBA player who left the game four children, and that’s little girls who are years ago. White had a spotty career in also involved in that category,” said Cunbasketball, playing just three games in ningham. “I stand on what I said.” the 2013-14 season with the Sacramento Now, I want to make sure to note Kings before moving to a couple of something important here: there D-League teams, and eventually are no transgender women in the seeing his contract voided in 2018. WNBA. Further, it is highly likely, Both men took to the news given the current conditions with media to declare that they were, trans youth in sports, that there will indeed, transgender women, and not be any potential prospects who are transgender would be WNBA prospects. women for many years, if ever. So, Cunningham is “Right now, I’m just having a blast in my feminine taking a brave stance against a paper tiger. era,” said White. “I never thought I was a woman. I’ve Her comments, nevertheless, ignited a firestorm always trusted the science and I thought I was a man of controversy, dominating headlines about the my entire life, but after further review, a strong look at WNBA for weeks. Even Cunningham herself tried my personal preferences, it would appear I am indeed to quell some of this, saying that she wanted “to get sometimes identifying as a transgender woman.” back to basketball” after a couple weeks of daily Freedom has his own take, posting to his X acheadlines, protests, and rallies. count, “The WNBA says a woman is anyone who That she was regularly getting booed by specclaims to be one. So, if I say I’m a woman, you have tators, having to join fifth-place swimmer Riley to accept it. Those are the rules the WNBA created.” Gaines, who was trying to maintain her own relThe WNBA did not make such a rule. It has not evance by cozying up to Cunningham, and others expressly banned transgender women, and while in the sport speaking out for transgender people there are no transgender women actually in the probably helped with her decision. pipeline to be drafted, it is likely – at best – that the The damage, however, was done. league would require a medical transition from The issue of transgender people in sports has Freedom, White, or anyone else.

from continuing to offer care. California prohibits healthcare providers and insurers from discriminating against or denying care to trans, gendernonconforming, and intersex people. However, the CMS rule will leave many low-income families at a standstill, the network pointed out, creating a cascading set of challenges that extend far beyond coverage itself. For parents and families already struggling, paying out of pocket for medically necessary care could mean making tough choices. The California Health and Human Services Agency is also critical of the CMS rule. State health officials, including Department of Public Health Director Dr. Erica Pan, noted that when youth and adults can access healthcare, their quality of life improves and rates of depression, distress, and suicide decrease. The agency noted that the Golden State is investing $30 million over the next three years to pay for healthcare that is not covered by other sources for gender-affirming care and abortion, as well as $26 million over three years to stabilize and expand the state’s Gender-Affirming Care Provider Network. That network, however, would appear to be under some potential strain itself in light of the aforementioned 9th Circuit decision. While the easy choice would be to stop seeing young trans patients, doctors and other care providers should stand up to the federal government and continue to provide treatment when warranted, and after consultation with patients and their families. The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus pointed out the state funding that was approved in the budget, but noted it was unable to secure a $1 million set-aside it sought for a state-only MediCal coverage and billing pathway for gender-affirming healthcare. “The state-only pathway would help ensure continuity of care for transgender Californians regardless of federal funding restrictions and, with today’s action by the Trump administration, it is needed now more than ever,” the caucus stated August 12. The caucus is continuing to work with lawmakers and Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration to secure the pathway before the end of the 2026 legislative session, which is rapidly approaching on August 31. We call on state lawmakers and Newsom administration officials to create this pathway. The $1 million price tag is a drop in the bucket. We can plainly see the Trump administration will stop at nothing when it comes to ending gender-affirming care. California is in a position to do something about that at the state level. It should immediately move forward. t

Never mind, of course, that no basketball player can walk off the street and declare themselves a prospect for the WNBA. Players are drafted from NCAA women’s basketball, and the NCAA already has a ban on transgender women. So, this is all moot. There’s something key that Freedom, White, Cunningham, and so many others never understand: trans women transition because they are women. Some trans women may play sports, but they don’t transition to play sports. Our lived experiences are not the script of “Juwanna Mann” or “Lady Ballers,” both bad comedic movies about men pretending to be women to play basketball. White and Freedom can only view being a transgender woman in sports as some sort of grift, because it is the only reason they would transition. Not that they actually would. They clearly seem to think that all they need to do is declare that they are in their “feminine era,” as White put it, and they will be accepted on the team. Have they seen what it is like to be a transgender person in 2026? I know many who have suggested online that Freedom and White, well, “commit to the bit.” It’s not just making a declaration on social media, after all. Go get evaluated, go get a prescription for hormone replacement therapy, and go ahead and change your name. Start living as an actual trans woman, work up through the ranks, and maybe in a couple of years, someone might take you seriously. I also know, from deeply personal experience, that they couldn’t walk a mile in my shoes, let alone have the guts to really try to be the first trans woman in the WNBA. Transition is most definitely not something you do on a lark, even in the best of circumstances. But there’s one last thing to consider about Freedom and White. Really, they could have just said that they think women – cis or trans – who play basketball are inferior to them. At the end of the day, their transmisogyny is also, simply, misogyny. t Gwen Smith was never very good at basketball. You’ll find her at www. gwensmith.com.

Politics >>

August 20-26, 2026 • Bay Area Repor ter • 5

East Bay college board candidate Huang scrubs GOP talking points by Matthew S. Bajko

hen Wendy Huang was running in June for an open East Bay congressional seat, she was “a proud endorsee” of the anti-LGBTQ group Moms for Liberty and proclaimed “parents’ rights are non-negotiable.” She also touted on her campaign website being a registered Republican despite decrying “Democratic and Republican insiders failed us.” Huang, a mom who emigrated from Taiwan and built up a career in real estate, lost in both primaries held for the U.S. House seat vacated earlier this year by disgraced Democratic congressmember Eric Swalwell of Dublin after being accused of sexual assault. She’s now running against gay Chabot-Las Positas Community College District Trustee Harris Mojadedi for his Area 3 board seat on the November 3 ballot. And scrubbed from her college board campaign website is any mention of her ties to the GOP and the conservative moms group whose chapters across the country have pushed schools and public libraries to remove and ban LGBTQ titles, particularly those aimed at young readers. Also gone is any mention of parents’ rights, which has become a rallying cry by those pushing back against pro-LGBTQ policies at schools, in particular those supportive of transgender and gendernonconforming students. Because the college board contest is nonpartisan, neither candidate’s political affiliation will appear on voters’ ballots. And that is a concern, said Mojadedi, a Democrat, as it helps to obscure the conservative stances that Huang supports. “We have seen across the state and country MAGA Republicans and farright elements target school board elections. Now they are taking their assault to higher education,” said Mojadedi, noting that his college district has supportive policies in place for its LGBTQ students. “It is not the place to penalize and spread hateful agendas against our diverse communities.” The Bay Area Reporter reached out to Huang to speak to her about her candidacy for the college board. On Monday, she replied via email that she was only able to answer questions emailed to her without explaining why she could not talk by phone. After the B.A.R. emailed her questions, Huang did not respond by the deadline to do so. Mojadedi, speaking to the B.A.R. by phone about his reelection bid, expressed concerns about how “innocuous” Huang’s new website for the college board seat is, as voters can’t “really deduce the extremist views” she touted as a candidate for the House seat. He questioned Huang’s commitment to maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that the college board has continued to back despite the Trump administration’s attacks on educational institutions over their DEI policies. The federal response has been “so hateful,” Mojadedi said, adding that voters in his district covering Union City and South Hayward need “to remain vigilant” as more candidates opposed to DEI measures seek election to educational governing bodies. “We are seeing in the East Bay, and particularly in Alameda County where I live, they are targeting every seat, every race,” said Mojadedi, an assistant dean for strategic initiatives at UC Berkeley. “We need to be vigilant about these extremist forces.” When the Union City resident was first appointed to fill a vacancy on his college board four years ago, Mojadedi became the first gay Afghan American to hold an elected public office in the United States. Also the first known LG-

Let’s talk cannabis. Courtesy the candidate

Chabot-Las Positas Community College District board candidate Wendy Huang has omitted references to anti-LGBTQ groups from her campaign website, after touting them in her unsuccessful race for Congress.

BTQ Muslim in the Bay Area to hold public office, he currently is state chair of the California Democratic Party’s Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus. Since he was unopposed in 2022 for a full four-year term, there was no need to hold a race for his college board seat on that November’s ballot. The next year, due to the death of Alameda County supervisor Richard Valle, Mojadedi sought to be appointed to the vacant seat but wasn’t selected by the board members. Earlier this year he had pulled papers to seek an open state Senate seat but ultimately decided against doing so. He’s now seeking a second four-year term on the governing body for Chabot College in Hayward and Las Positas College in Livermore, which together serve 29,000 students. “I am running for reelection to continue to be a champion of working families and to continue to be a champion for our students and to protect them,” said Mojadedi, the first LGBTQ trustee on his board. Mojadedi was born in Fremont to parents who emigrated from Afghanistan over three decades ago. The youngest of five siblings, he’s lived in the East Bay’s tri-cities area for most of his life. After receiving a B.A. in political science with a concentration in public policy from San Jose State University, Mojadedi earned his master’s degree in leadership studies from Saint Mary’s College of California. First hired as a policy analyst in the vice chancellor of student affairs office at UC Berkeley, Mojadedi had focused on the university’s DEI work. On the college board, he has helped to increase enrollment that had dropped due to the COVID pandemic and seen construction begin on a $112 million science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics complex at Las Positas College set to open in 2028. “My record speaks for itself. Chabot remains one of the healthiest community college districts in the state,” said Mojadedi, telling the B.A.R. he is “feeling really confident” about his winning reelection this fall. “Ultimately, it’s up to the voters, but I worked hard on behalf of my constituents and to again support our college district and to help it weather the storm.” A third candidate also made the ballot, airworthiness engineer Mark Fay, though he did not provide any contact information or a campaign website URL to elections officials. Mojadedi’s website at harrismojadedi. com went live this week. He told the B.A.R. he is looking to have an official campaign kickoff event sometime in September. Members of the LGBTQ-focused East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club

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Wahab leads in special US House race

The state legislative seat that Mojadedi had toyed with running for is held by Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward), the first Afghan American woman to win elected office in the U.S. It is open due to Wahab running for Swalwell’s Congressional District 14 seat. It’s up this November because of Swalwell’s decision to run for governor rather than another House term. But he ended his gubernatorial bid when he resigned from Congress, which sparked the June 16 special election to fill his vacant House seat. Huang came in fourth place in that race and took third place in the June 2 primary for the full two-year House term. Wahab came in first place in the June 2 primary and is running for the congressional seat on the November ballot against second-place finisher Melissa Hernandez, currently board president for regional transit agency BART. Wahab also came in first ahead of Hernandez, a former Dublin mayor, in the special election to serve out the remainder of Swalwell’s term through the end of the year. Since Wahab fell short of receiving more than 50% of the vote, though, it triggered the runoff race between her and Hernandez held Tuesday, August 18. According to the unofficial returns, Wahab is in first place with 51% of the vote. Whichever of the two Democrats wins the contest, they will be seen as the frontrunner headed into their fall race. It remains to be seen if the victor will be sworn into office by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who presides over a closely divided chamber, and also gain incumbent status for the November race. t

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<< Business News

t Couple brings unique ethos to Peninsula bookstore 6 • Bay Area Repor ter • August 20-26, 2026

by Matthew S. Bajko

oward the back of their Reach & Teach Books, Toys, and Gifts store in downtown San Carlos, co-owners Derrick Kikuchi and Craig Wiesner have hung a framed thank you letter from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for sending her the civil rights strategy card game Civio that they created. The married couple had gifted it to her upon her 2022 nomination to the nation’s highest court. “Looking forward to playing the game! (And learning in the process),” Jackson scribbled in blue ink on the correspondence. The game retails for $14.95 and a booster pack that goes with a recent update they gave it costs $10, though Wiesner told the Bay Area Reporter they mostly give it away for free to anyone who purchases the game. “We send it to every new president and Supreme Court justice,” he said, noting Jackson was the first who thanked them for doing so. It is an example of the ethos behind their business, which is focused on peacemaking, gender equality, diversity,

and sustainable living. Everything they stock fits into those themes, or is either a green/eco-friendly product or a handcrafted fair trade gift. “People who buy something here at Reach & Teach are bringing a story into the world with their purchase,” said Kikuchi, explaining they can share where it comes from and who made it if it’s a fair trade product from overseas. “We have a direct connection with the communities making the products.” They also aim not to overcharge for what they sell so the purchases benefit their customers’ wallets, their own proceeds, and the profits shared with the local artisans, crafters, and book authors. “We don’t want people to think doing the right thing is prohibitively expensive,” said Kikuchi. “We are keeping the products we sell as affordable as we can, so that more money is going to the communities that made it and benefit from that sale.” Their focus stems from the couple’s decades-long involvement in social and economic justice issues and the peace movement. Wiesner, 67, cofounded Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice, a Bay Area interfaith peace organization, while Kikuchi, 68, is a Pres-

Matthew S. Bajko

Derrick Kikuchi, left, held copies of books available at Reach & Teach Books, Toys, and Gifts that he owns with his husband, Craig Wiesner.

A framed note from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accompanied a display for Civio, a civil rights-themed game that Derrick Kikuchi and Craig Wiesner created.

byterian Elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto who’s traveled to El Salvador, Mexico, and Afghanistan on peacemaking and solidarity delegations, some of which Wiesner also had joined. For a decade Wiesner served on the San Mateo County LGBTQ Commission, advocating for the community before various city councils on the Peninsula and the county’s Board of Supervisors until stepping off it in 2024. He assisted with the push during the COVID pandemic to see every city in the county celebrate Pride Month in 2020, as the

B.A.R. covered at the time. A gift card to Reach & Teach was raffled off at a recent meeting the commission held to launch its SpeakOUT Campaign that is recruiting county residents to advocate on behalf of the LGBTQ community at city councils and local school boards, as well as at libraries and workplaces. “With growing challenges facing the LGBTQIA+ community, your voice matters now more than ever,” noted the commission in plugging it.

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Wiesner and Kikuchi opened Reach & Teach’s first brick-and-mortar location in 2006 in downtown San Mateo but saw a slump in customers due to the COVID pandemic. The location was a bit off the main commercial corridor, so when their lease was up they moved into their current storefront in mid-January 2023 that they found due to a recommendation from a longtime customer. “The move has been really nice. We have gotten such support from the community,” said Kikuchi, noting the store was named the Community Foundation of San Carlos’ Business of the Year in 2025. Added Wiesner, who pens a bi-weekly Monday column for the San Mateo Daily Journal newspaper, “We would not be in business today if we had not relocated.” Together since 1990, the couple lives in Daly City with their 14-year-old dog Holly, a shepherd and whippet mix breed. Drawn to the Bay Area for jobs in the tech industry, they both ended up at the same pool party in 1988 hosted by an employee at Hewlett-Packard where Kikuchi worked and which Wiesner had as a client. It was kismet, as Kikuchi wasn’t supposed to attend it, but his plans for that day changed, leading him to meet his future husband. It was another fateful encounter post an International Day lecture in 2003 the couple gave to Palo Alto High School students about their peace work that led them to open a bookstore and gift shop. They had registered Reach & Teach as a tech venture, but after one attendee told them they should be focused fulltime on their anti-war activism, it prompted Wiesner and Kikuchi to pivot their professional focus. “In the car afterwards, I said we aren’t going to be the same,” recalled Kikuchi. They began with a booth at The Green Festival held in 2005 in San Francisco, where they sold a bunch of merchandise, and became vendors at various events that year. Their goal was “to transform the world through teachable moments,” as they explain on their store website. “Reach and Teach is a treasure hunter, searching the planet for that special something that mainstream stores won’t promote.” A popular item they currently carry is a Danish version of air hockey called Klask ($65), which Wiesner promised “is easy to learn how to play.” Also selling well are singleplayer challenge puzzles ranging in price from $20 to $30. While they have a special display at the front of the store for the “Heartstopper” LGBTQ young adult books, which recently concluded its TV adaptation on Netflix with a movie, the 2002 “Cemetery Boys” young adult paranormal novel by trans Latine author Aiden Thomas has been a top seller this summer, along with the LGBTQ+ romance and fantasy books by queer author TJ Klune who is open about having ADHD. See page 7 >>

Untitled-6 1

8/19/26 11:16 AM

t <<

Community News>>

August 20-26, 2026 •Bay Area Repor ter • 7

LGBTQ bills

From page 1

“California has long been a leader in HIV prevention and public health,” stated Laird. “SB 1023 helps ensure that providers and clinics can continue offering injectable PrEP to the communities that need it most by removing barriers that limit access to care.” Also moved off the suspense file Thursday was SB 934 authored by gay Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) which will allow people more time to bring a civil suit against a practitioner who subjected them to the debunked practice of conversion therapy to try to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. If enacted, the bill will ensure plaintiffs can cite scientific principles and consensus around proper medical care to demonstrate conversion therapy’s harm in bringing forward a malpractice claim. Under SB 934, anyone under 18 when they were subjected to the therapy could file a claim before age 40. Those older when they underwent conversion therapy would be able to file a claim within 10 years of their last session. A person would also be able to bring a claim within five years of their discovering an injury or illness due to the efforts to change their being LGBTQ. Also surviving the suspense vote Thursday was SB 1328 introduced by lesbian Senator Sabrina Cervantes (DRiverside) to require California’s colleges and universities designate a confidential employee at satellite campuses, branch campuses, and outreach centers to support the needs of LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff. It follows on a bill passed in 2024 that required such a person on the main campuses of higher education institutions. SB 998 by Senators Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) is also moving to a floor vote. Its provisions include a requirement for the state’s Office of Civil Rights to appoint an LGBTQ+ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator to develop educational materials for school teachers, staff, governing board and body members, administrators, and other local educational agency personnel so they can identify and proactively

Patronscan

From page 1

“What we do is scan a governmentissued ID to confirm you are who you say you are, and that you’re old enough to be there,” Patronscan stated. “That’s it.” Evan Greer of Fight for the Future stated to the B.A.R. August 14 that, “Unfortunately, it seems like the management of this bar have been misled by Patronscan and are being fed incorrect talking points about how their technology works and what concerns it raises.” Greer, a trans woman, stands by her organization’s characterization of the technology as “AI surveillance.” “Patronscan has argued that their technology does not constitute ‘facial recognition.’ This is a common claim from surveillance vendors when they face controversy,” Greer stated. “While bar owners are claiming they are doubling down on this technology to keep their staff safe, it really seems like they just don’t want to listen to the feedback from the community. They could use the money they are spending on Patronscan to hire more staff, which would do a lot more to protect both staff and patrons. AI surveillance is just not a solution. Period. And defending it so vigorously as an LGBTQ venue is frankly embarrassing and wildly out of touch with what the community wants and needs.” The B.A.R. has asked for evidence of this other than the Illinois civil com-

Business Briefing

From page 6

“His books are doing very well. They have broad appeal, from young people to adults,” noted Kikuchi. They offer gift wrapping, a particularly popular option during the busy

Courtesy the subjects

Assemblymembers Corey A. Jackson, Ph.D., left, and Rick Chavez Zbur were pleased their bills advanced in the Legislature.

foster care system due to being abused or neglected at home and determine whether to open a juvenile dependency case within 21 days. It also would ensure young adults ages 18 to 21 are not blocked from extended foster care when they are no longer receiving support and are at risk of homelessness. Zbur’s AB 1930 aims to strengthen state privacy protections for confidential medical information. It comes amid politically motivated investigations being initiated by the Trump administration and Republican officials in other states who are targeting providers of abortion and gender-affirming care in California and other states. If it is enacted, business entities in the Golden State would have to notify the California attorney general before responding to a subpoena or inquiry regarding health care they provide that is legally protected under state law. The attorney general would also be allowed to intervene in any civil action brought by a state business entity that faces a legal inquiry or summons related to the care they provide. AB 1775 by gay Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) would allow access to state programs by transgender veterans being forced out of the military under an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last year. It would make sure such service members discharged under the policy would still qualify for housing assistance and professional licensing support afforded to them by the state, as well as be able to utilize discharge upgrade services as they transition back to civilian life. Trans Army veteran Kat Koehlmoos, a San Francisco resident honorably discharged under the Biden administration, told the B.A.R. it is “great news” that AB 1775 is moving on. She has been advocating for its passage as a board member of SPARTA Pride, which focuses on trans servicemembers and their families, and is suing the Trump administration over its transphobic executive order. “I am glad California is stepping up at the state level to do what it can to support those being unfairly kicked out,” said Koehlmoos. Also moved off the suspense file was AB 1836 co-authored by Ward and Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino)

that would allow nonprofit hosts of community events such as Pride celebrations and other LGBTQ public gatherings to seek funding upward of $500,000 for security measures via the state’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program. It currently covers nonprofit facilities but not off-site events put on by such entities. And AB 1540 by gay Assemblymember Mark González (D-Los Angeles) also moved on. It aims to have dedicated counselors for LGBTQ callers to California’s 988 suicide prevention hotline via state officials requesting the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration allow it to have a “Press 3” option. The Trump administration eliminated the option at the national level last summer but is supposed to revive it by the end of the year after out congressmembers and their allies secured funding for the LGBTQdedicated counselors. Two other bills are awaiting final votes to move on to the Assembly floor. Intersex youth and adults would be provided protection under AB 1876 authored by Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay). It would clarify that intersex traits, as well as gender identity and other characteristics, are included under state law prohibiting sex discrimination by health plans and insurers. AB 2164 authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (DOrinda) would prohibit California’s governor from recognizing a request for extradition of a person related to their providing a legally protected health care activity in the Golden State such as gender-affirming care except under certain circumstances. As the B.A.R. previously reported, Newsom in July signed into law AB 2003 by Assemblymember Marc Berman (DMenlo Park) that makes permanent an online suicide prevention training program the state had piloted for middle through high school students. Expected to launch by next spring, the course will also be made available to any teacher, administrator, or family with a student enrolled in kindergarten through high school in the state. As for the bills that make it to his desk in the coming weeks, Newsom will have until September 30 to either sign them into law or veto them. t Bruce responded, “I don’t know of a meeting.” Apparently, none of the bars that used the technology were there, Marie later confirmed. Nor was Mandelman, who is on vacation, as the Board of Supervisors is currently on its August recess. Marie said that Badlands was invited via an email provided to her by the Castro Merchants Association. Badlands has undergone an ownership change in the past few years, from longtime owner Les Natali to Bruce, who owns LGBTQ bars in many cities including San Jose and Sacramento. Marie said representatives of Detour and Blackbird, as well as Nate Bourg of The Academy, a gay man who is also Castro Merchants Association president, were at the meeting. The B.A.R. reached out to Detour and Blackbird, which share an ownership group, but has not heard back. Marie and Bourg told the B.A.R. that a survey has been sent to all the Castro bars to ask them to weigh in on security camera issues. Bourg stated it was sent to bars only and that, “I’m happy to share results with you when they come in.” The merchants shared the survey with the B.A.R. August 14; it asks if businesses are using Patronscan, their thoughts, if they’d consider it in the future, and if they support or are opposed to it in general. t

prevent LGBTQ+ discrimination at their school sites. The Assembly will also take up SB 1149 authored by Senator María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles). It aims to allow workers to take bereavement leave for chosen and extended family members, similar to previous legislation Durazo saw become law that extended paid family leave provisions to workers in need of caring for chosen or extended family members, not merely their immediate family. Lesbian state Senator Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley) saw her SB 608 aimed at ensuring students in grades seven to 12 can get condoms from school-based health centers move forward. Former versions of her legislation were vetoed by Newsom, so it remains to be seen if it will finally become law this year. SB 1114 from gay Senator Christopher Cabaldon (D-Yolo) aims to strengthen privacy protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex data by limiting when state agencies can share the SOGI information. If signed into law, it will ensure the LGBTQ data cannot be disclosed outside of California state government, except under limited circumstances. Bisexual Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) changed her SB 957 to focus on requiring social media companies to notify users when they have received an administrative subpoena. Dubbed the Stopping Harmful Infor-

mation Exploitation and Lawless Data Sharing (SHIELD) Act, it would place restrictions on how such companies respond to subpoenas and allow the state’s attorney general to intervene in such matters. Out lawmakers and community advocates are backing the bill due to concerns that gender identity and sexual orientation data collected by the online platforms could be used to endanger LGBTQ+ users of them. It will be taken up by the Assembly.

plaint. Greer responded that Patronscan’s use of an algorithm to find fake IDs as part of the ID scanning process means it uses AI, but conceded it may not constitute facial recognition. “They can mince words about whether or not this is facial recognition or not. We don’t really care,” Greer added. “Using face scanning devices and AI algorithms to match faces to IDs and then store sensitive information like gender and address for weeks is a massive privacy and safety threat to LGBTQ+ people.” Greer characterized it as an argument over semantics, adding, “Arguing about the semantics doesn’t make what they’re doing OK.” Patronscan does allow participating establishments to flag patrons who have misbehaved, so that “any venue running our system will see that flag at the door and can turn them away before they ever get inside.” “For clients using our Flag Network, the goal is to provide one thing that’s missing in a lot of social spaces these days: accountability,” Patronscan stated on its website in response to the news reports and controversy. “Bad behavior doesn’t just disappear when someone gets kicked out, and they don’t get to walk into the bar across the road and start over. … For venues like our clients in The Castro, this matters deeply. When someone brings hatred, prejudice, or harmful intent into an LGBTQ+ space and gets removed and flagged, our

system makes sure they can’t just dust themselves off and walk into the next bar down the street.” A person flagged at one Patronscan venue will be flagged at other venues using the technology, but flags disappear after 21 days, the company stated. People can dispute a flag online. Kealy stated The Mix adopted the technology after the brutal beating of one of its now-former door staff, identified in a former online fundraiser only as Tony, in an incident that among others led to a heightened police presence in the Castro last year. “We installed Patronscan in response to a very real and traumatizing incident in which one of our employees was horrifically assaulted and hunted by his attacker. Had the system been in place, police could have identified the man immediately,” Kealy stated. “Since the introduction of Patronscan the results are tangible: violence, theft, and vandalism are down to nearly zero. Just as important, our staff and customers have peace of mind. When the possibility of removing it was raised, our staff strongly asked us not to – they told us it makes their workplace safer.” Castro bar employees have expressed safety concerns to the B.A.R. for years, issues that police have said don’t necessarily justify beefed up night patrols, claiming the data wouldn’t support that. Just two months ago, police took hours to respond to an alleged threat of violence

at Badlands, as the B.A.R. reported. San Francisco Police Chief Derrick Lew pledged to look into reallocating resources after the alleged Badlands threat, which was just before Pride festivities kicked off. Kealy took issue with the characterization of the technology as being facial recognition in media coverage. “By continuing to mislabel this technology, many news outlets are becoming active participants in whatever happens next regarding the safety of our employees and customers, who are like family to us,” he stated. “If some of these local reporters genuinely care about promoting, nurturing, and protecting the LGBTQ+ community, they should champion tools that demonstrably make our community safer rather than frightening people with inaccurate descriptions of how those tools work.”

holiday shopping season. Customers can request purchases made in advance be gift wrapped and later pick them up at the store. “Whenever you want a few moments of peace, come on by,” said Kikuchi. Located at 1179 San Carlos Avenue, Reach & Teach is right around the cor-

ner from a weekly Sunday farmers market, which brings in a stream of customers. The store opens at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Friday and at 10 a.m. on the weekend. Most days it closes at 5 p.m. but stays open until 6:30 p.m. Fridays and closes early at 4 p.m. Sundays. With their lease up in January 2028,

they are likely to close their doors, said Wiesner, but are open to selling the business to someone willing to maintain their same product lineup philosophy. “We are thinking of retiring and have told people that is the plan,” he said. “We have had a few people say they might take it over.”

Bills move forward in state Senate

The Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday moved several LGBTQrelated bills off its suspense file and sent them for floor votes. Assembly Bill 1578 authored by gay Assemblymember Corey A. Jackson, Ph.D., (D-Moreno Valley) would require elected school board members and other public office holders across California to complete at least one hour of antihate speech training and education within six months of taking office and subsequently every four years thereafter. The requirement would begin on January 1, 2028, if his bill becomes law. Two bills authored by gay Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D–Hollywood) received the backing of the fiscal panel. His AB 1967 would require county social workers to immediately review petitions filed by LGBTQ or straight youth seeking to enter the state’s

None of three bars at meeting As the B.A.R. recently reported, Sophie Marie, a legislative aide to Mandelman, who is also board president, said that Mandelman’s office is “currently organizing a meeting time with the bar owners for mid-next week,” after Mandelman, who represents the Castro, received an “influx of concerns” from upset patrons. Kealy told the B.A.R. he was unable to make the meeting, which was August 12. Asked on August 13 how the meeting went, Badlands owner TJ

For more information about the bookstore and gift shop, including upcoming special events and to buy online, visit its website at reachandteach.com/now/. t Got a tip on LGBTQ business news? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email m.bajko@ ebar.com.

<< Community News

8 • Bay Area Repor ter • August 20-26, 2026

Ex-SF sheriff’s deputy pleads not guilty in sex assault by John Ferrannini

former San Francisco Sheriff’s deputy pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from allegedly sexually assaulting a transgender woman in the city’s jail. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Damon Jones, 34, was arrested in Solano County last month and charged with engaging in sexual activity with a confined adult while acting as a peace officer employed in a public detention facility, and with dissuading a witness from reporting a crime, both felonies, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office stated in a news release. In Department 12 at the Hall of Justice on August 18, Jones pleaded not guilty to those charges. His attorney, Harry Stern, told San Francisco Superior Court Judge Lianne M. Dumas that he and Assistant District Attorney Erin Lobak, who was also present in court, had agreed upon an October 6 date to set a preliminary hearing. Dumas agreed to a 9 a.m. hearing on that date to set the preliminary hearing, which determines

John Ferrannini

A former San Francisco Sheriff’s deputy has pleaded not guilty in Superior Court to sexual assault charges.

whether the case moves forward to trial. Dumas informed Jones he had a right to a preliminary hearing by October 19 at the latest, and Jones agreed to waive his right to that. Stern asked Dumas if Jones had to be present in court on October 6. Dumas said that if Jones – who is out of custody – is in constant communication with

him, then it isn’t necessary. Charges against Jones come after the alleged victim anonymously filed a legal claim with the city, as the B.A.R. also reported. At that time, the victim’s attorney, Megan Burns, told the B.A.R. that she had been released in fall 2025. Burns, a managing partner at Mirador Law, stated August 18 that she is pleased the case is moving forward. “After nearly a year of seeking justice for Jane Doe, we are encouraged and relieved that the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office is moving forward with enforcing the law,” Burns stated. “This is a long-awaited step on behalf of our client’s well-being and for the others out there we believe have been victims of the City and County of San Francisco jail system and former Deputy Jones.” The B.A.R. reached out to Stern for comment, and to ask if Jones would like to be interviewed, but has not heard back as of press time.

Video evidence

According to the DA’s office, on Sep-

Oakland Pride

From page 3

The health pavilion, located in the Frank Ogawa Plaza, had booths from the Alameda County Public Health Department. Kaeb Menker, a straight ally and the immunization director for the Alameda County Public Health Department, said the department was a sponsor for the event and they attend every year to make public health information and resources available. Booths offered informational readouts and giveaways, while the stand from CAL-PEP, a partner, offered sexually transmitted infection testing. Vendors sold jewelry, rings, clothes, prints, trinkets, and artisanal products. Allyssa, a queer woman who did not give a last name, runs Rainbow Bath Essentials. She said the vendor fee was $325 but the event organizers offered discounts. She added that a member

George Faville

The Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus marched in the Oakland Pride Parade August 16.

tember 11, 2025, “Jones approached the victim, a transgender woman, housed in A Pod in County Jail #2, and allegedly told her to go to the gym with him. Video surveillance shows the two of them go down jail hallways and enter the gym alone. Mr. Jones is later seen walking into a bathroom stall with the victim following him inside. Less than two minutes later the victim is seen on the video coming out of the bathroom. She is then seen reaching into her sock and pulling out a plastic bag that she spits into. Mr. Jones is then seen coming out of the bathroom.” The release cited court records that stated that the victim told police she was forced to perform oral sex upon Jones, who ejaculated in her mouth, which is why she spat into the bag. “She gave the bag to her attorney, who took it to a crime lab. SFPD retrieved the evidence from the crime lab and DNA testing came back with a match to Mr. Jones,” the release stated. “According to court records, the victim also told detectives that after the oral copulation, Mr. Jones told her to shut up,

[and] that no one would believe her. … She said she felt scared and intimidated.” The San Francisco Sheriff’s office previously stated to the B.A.R. via a spokesperson that, “After learning of the alleged misconduct in September 2025, the Sheriff’s Office immediately removed the deputy from duty, initiated an internal criminal investigation, and ultimately terminated the deputy’s employment.” Jones had first been hired in June 2024, and was terminated in September 2025, according to the sheriff’s office. “As this matter is now part of an active criminal prosecution, we will defer any additional questions regarding the charges to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office,” the statement continued. Although charges have been filed, this remains an active investigation, according to the DA’s office. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. Tipsters may remain anonymous. t

into people that I’ve seen out at queer parties or that I have seen at different vending opportunities. It’s really cute to be able to connect with people.” There were nonprofits and religious organizations with booths as well. Kristal Ip, a queer woman and one of the co-directors for the East Bay Meditation Center, was there to improve the center’s outreach and connection with the community. She said seeing and talking with everyone who stopped by was her favorite part of being there. “The importance of having Pride is having a space that people can come and see a face that says they are accepted, they are welcome,” said Raymond Glover, a gay man with the City of Refuge United Church of Christ, who handed out flyers at their stand in the plaza’s courtyard. As the day progressed, the fog thinned and the crowds grew. Terrell Carter, Lady Alma, Fey, Amerie, La Cruz, Gala Vero, Chrissy Chlapeck, and

Star Amerasu were among the lineup of musicians, DJs, and dancers that performed. Around 5 p.m., Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee gave a short speech from the main stage. “There’s no option for me but to be an advocate for freedom and for justice and for equality for everyone … We love life in Oakland, we love people, we love everybody in Oakland, and I want Oakland to be proud of pride and proud of who you are and what you do,” she said to the crowded amphitheater and lawn. “It’s been a long, beautiful day, I know, and I am so proud to see so many here celebrating Pride.” Having represented Oakland in Congress from 1998 to January 2025, Lee won a special election in 2025 after former mayor Sheng Thao was recalled. Lee is running for reelection on November 3 against Brenda Grisham, Mindy Pechenuk, Julius Robinson, and other candidates. t

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560854 Petitioner YULIA TALYSHEVA AKA JULIA LIPSIT filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name YULIA TALYSHEVA AKA JULIA LIPSIT to proposed name JULIA LIPSIT. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026

of the LGBTQ center attended a prior event she was at to find more queer vendors for Pride.

“It’s definitely stressful, but once you get here and everything is set up, then it feels good,” said Allyssa. “I’m running

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560834 Petitioner JULIO ANTONIO SANCHEZ filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name JULIO ANTONIO SANCHEZ AKA JULIO A. SANCHEZ AKA JULIO ANTONIO SANCHEZ OLMEDO AKA JULIO A SANCHEZ OLMEDO AKA JULIO SANCHEZ to proposed name JULIO ANTONIO SANCHEZ-OLMEDO. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 08, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409920 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): HJ CLEANING SERVICES, 134 ARLETA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): NORMA O JUAREZ HERNANDEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/14/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/21/2026. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409773 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): GATHER TIP, 331B PAGE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): STRI LABS INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/30/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/30/2026. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409930 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): E&P BUILDING MAINTENANCE, 624 ELLIS ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): EMERSON FARFAN PENAGOS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/22/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/22/2026. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409860 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): IRISH HELP AT HOME LLC, 2021 TARAVAL ST #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): IRISH HELP AT HOME LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/17/1998. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/09/2026. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026

Legals>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560801 Petitioner NAIMA WASHINGTON filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name SHAMAR LEE ROBINSON JR. to proposed name NY’ZHERE JUNIOR LEE PEARSON. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: AUGUST 25, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560827 Petitioner ELIZABETH ANN PORTER filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ELIZABETH ANN PORTER to proposed name ELIZABETH ANN BOTTOMLEY. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 03, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560825 Petitioner MARK KAZUYA OGO filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name MARK KAZUYA OGO to proposed name MARCO OGO. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 03, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560828 Petitioner SHEILA ILEANA NICKOLOPOULOS filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name SHEILA ILEANA NICKOLOPOULOS to proposed name SHEILA ILEANA GREGORIUS. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 03, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026

AMENDED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC26-560698 Petitioner BARBARA JEAN JONES filed an amended petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name BARBARA JEAN JONES AKA BOBBIE JEAN JONES to proposed name BOBBIE JEAN JONES. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 15, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560815 Petitioner ROXANE SLIM filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ROXANE SLIM AKA ROXANNE SLIM AKA SLIM to proposed name ROXANE MORNING STAR SLIM. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 01, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560839 Petitioner SUNG WON YU filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name SUNG WON YU AKA SUNG WON LEW AKA LEW SUNG to proposed name SUNG WON LEW. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 08, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409934 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CINEEL, 825 LINCOLN WAY #302, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): AVERY KATHERINE HOM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/22/2026. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409952 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ARETULA, 137 AVOCET WAY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/ Owner(s): ABHISHEK NATH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/2026. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409962 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): BOBBYDTHERAPY, 500 FOLSOM ST #208, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): BOBBY DULAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/28/2026. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409925 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): KAVAI, 748 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/ Owner(s): SOTER TECHNOLOGY, INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/21/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/21/2026. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409931 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): INSTAPLAY, 156 2ND ST #430, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): GENERAL CONTEXT LABS, INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/24/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/22/2026. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409675 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): EXTRAVEGANZA EATERY, 1335 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): SF LAST CHEF STANDING LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/17/2026. JULY 30, AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560814 Petitioner KARLA JAQUELINE SALINAS DELGADO filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name JOSUE AZAEL SALINAS DELGADO to proposed name JOSUE AZAEL CAMACHO and present name JOSUE UBALDO CAMACHO SALINAS to proposed name JOSUE UBALDO CAMACHO. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 01, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560843 Petitioner BRAVERY MARIE SCOTT filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name BRAVERY MARIE SCOTT AKA ASHLEY MARIE SCOTT AKA ASHLEY MARIE SEWELL to proposed name BRAVERY CHRISTOPHER SCOTT. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 15, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560851 Petitioner DANIEL RUEZGA GONZALEZ AKA DANIEL RUEZGA RUEZGA GONZALEZ filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name DANIEL RUEZGA GONZALEZ AKA DANIEL RUEZGA RUEZGA GONZALEZ to proposed name DANIEL RUEZGA GONZALEZ. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 15, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409961 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): VINEWORLD SECURITY SERVICES, 6246 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): GODDEN TIOH NKWETA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560838 Petitioner TIMOTHY RYAN-CONNER filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name TIMOTHY PATRICK RYAN-CONNER to proposed name REX PATRICK RYAN-CONNER. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 08, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409956 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): SEVEN STARS NOTARY & DOCUMENT SERVICES, 2374 22ND AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): W.H. SUZI MUI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/27/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026

Legals >>

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF ROBERTO ALVAREZ IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: CASE NUMBER PES-26-309665 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of ROBERTO ALVAREZ. A Petition for Probate has been filed by ROBERTO ALVAREZ & MARTA ALVAREZ in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that ROBERTO ALVAREZ & MARTA ALVAREZ be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: AUGUST 24, 2026, 9:00 am, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.Petitioner: ROBERTO ALVAREZ & MARTA ALVAREZ, 140 LAGUNA ST #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102; Ph. (415) 850-7868. AUG 06, 13, 20, 2026 SUMMONS (DIVORCE) SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO. NOTICE TO RESPONDENT: KAWALDEEP KHANDPUR ARORA, YOU HAVE BEEN SUED. PETITIONER’S NAME: STEPHANIE ANNE-LUEBBERKE ARORA. CASE NO. FDI-26-803276 You have been sued. Read the information below. You have 30 calendar days after this Summons and Petition are served on you to file a Response (form FL-120) at the court and have a copy served on the petitioner. A letter or phone call, or court appearance will not protect you. If you do not file your Response on time, the court may make orders affecting your marriage or domestic partnership, your property, and custody of your children. You may be ordered to pay support and attorney fees and costs. For legal advice, contact a lawyer immediately. Get help finding a lawyer at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp), at the California Legal Services website (www.lawhelpca. org) or by contacting your local county bar association. NOTICE – RESTRAINING ORDERS ARE BELOW: These restraining orders are effective against both spouses or domestic partners until the petition is dismissed, a judgment is entered, or the court makes further orders. They are enforceable anywhere in California by any law enforcement officer who has received or seen a copy of them. FEE WAIVER: If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. The court may order you to pay back all or part of the fees and costs that the court waived for you or the other party. The name and address of the court are: Superior Court County of San Francisco, 400 McAllister St. San Francisco, California 94102. The name, address and telephone number of petitioner’s attorney, or petitioner without an attorney is: STEPHANIE ANNE-LUEBBERKE ARORA, 1987 28TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116; (415) 359-7608, Date: 07/09/2026, Clerk of The Court, Anthony Mui, Deputy. STANDARD FAMILY LAW RESTRAINING ORDERS: Starting immediately, you and your spouse or domestic partner are restrained from: 1. Removing the minor child or children of the parties, if any, from the state without the prior written consent of the other party or an order of the court; 2. Cashing borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability, held for the benefit of the parties and their minor child or children; 3. Transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether community, quasi-community, or separate, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life; and 4. Creating a nonprobate transfer or modifying a nonprobate transfer in the manner that affects the disposition of property subject to the transfer, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. Before revocation of a nonprobate transfer can take effect or a right of survivorship to property can be eliminated, notice of the change must be filed and served on the other party. You must notify each other of any proposed extraordinary expenditures at least five business days prior to incurring these extraordinary expenditures and account to the court for all extraordinary expenditures made after these restraining orders are effective. However, you may use community property, quasi-community property, or your own separate property to pay an attorney to help you or to pay court costs. WARNING – IMPORTANT INFORMATION California law provides that, for purposes of division of property upon dissolution of a marriage or domestic partnership or upon legal separation, property acquired by the parties during marriage or domestic partnership in joint form is presumed to be community property. If either party to this action should die before the jointly held community property is divided, the language in the deed that characterizes how title is held (i.e. joint tenancy, tenants in common, or community property) will be controlling, and not the community property presumption. You should consult your attorney if you want the community property presumption to be written into the recorded title to the property. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409958 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CLEARVIEW CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, 660 WEST FIELD RD #282658, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94128. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/ Owner(s): DOUGLAS ANTONIO MARTINEZ-CORDOVA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2019. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409983 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ZERO HOUR MEDICAL, 2090 BROADWAY #604, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): SCOTT J CAMPBELL MD MPH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409888 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): SPARKLE TEAM CLEANING COMPANY, 3288 21ST ST #65, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): EVA LETICIA JOVEL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409954 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): BP SHUTTERS AND SHADES, 3832 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): SAUL BAMACA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/31/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026

August 20-26, 2026 • Bay Area Repor ter • 9 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409998 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): SFC DISPENSARY, 1545 OCEAN AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): BASA NOVA INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/30/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409984 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): LEGACY WRECKING & DEMOLITION, 1251 THOMAS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): NORTH BAY HAULING INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/28/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409837 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ORPHAN ANDY’S, 3991A 17TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): GOODRICH RESTAURANTS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409845 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): INNERBLOOM, 1101 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): THE VESTA GROUP LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/08/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410012 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ASHBURY MARKET, 205 FREDERICK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): KINGS TRUST LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/03/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410017 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): DARK MATTER SALON, 660 MARKET ST #205, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): DARK MATTER SALON, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/03/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE 2026-0408566 The following has abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as SF NANNIES, 274 12TH AVE #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business was conducted by a general partnership and signed by EVA KANTOR & ORSOLYA STEINER. The fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/23/2026. The abandonment of fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/2026. AUG 06, 13, 20, 27, 2026 AMENDED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC26-560833 Petitioner MICHAEL BABATUNDI MCNAIR filed an amended petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name MICHAEL BABATUNDI MCNAIR AKA MICHAEL MCNAIR to proposed name MICHAEL MCNAIR. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560860 Petitioner MARGARET JESSICA SULLIVAN filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name MARGARET JESSICA SULLIVAN to proposed name JESSICA SULLIVAN NOE. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560861 Petitioner MICHAEL S. PYUN JR. filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name MICHAEL S. PYUN JR. to proposed name MICHAEL S. PYUN and present name LIEM ANH PYUN JR HA to proposed name LIEM ANH HA. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560864 Petitioner MARIA CHRISTINA RESENDEZ GONZALEZ filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name MARIA CHRISTINA RESENDEZ GONZALEZ to proposed name MARIA CHRISTINA RESENDEZ. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 22, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560862 Petitioner AUDRIE LOK filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name AUDRIE LOK to proposed name AUDRIE LEE. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 22, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-561859 Petitioner ALEXANDER CAMERON GOLDENHAR filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ALEXANDER CAMERON GOLDENHAR to proposed name ALEXANDER CAMERON GOLDENHEART. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 17, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 AMENDED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC26-560790 Petitioner ELLA MAE SMITH AKA ELLA MAE BOWERS filed an amended petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ELLA MAE SMITH AKA ELLA MAE BOWERS to proposed name ELLA MAE SMITH. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 22, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560863 Petitioner JARROD WAYNE DANIELS filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name JARROD WAYNE DANIELS to proposed name JARROD CHRISTOPHER SCHINELLA. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 22, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410026 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PIRATE KING TRAVEL, 935 KEARNY ST UNIT 64, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): GARRETT LEE COLLINS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/30/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/04/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409807 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CONFECTION CRAVINGS, 10 JUDAH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): ZOE POINDEXTER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410062 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): FABRICS VETTED, 166 CASTRO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): WILLIAM MORRIS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/15/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409896 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CABANA CT. H&G, 36 THOR AVE #C, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): LORIN GEORGE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/16/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410030 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): SAFETY PRO TEAM, 239 NEY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): TERESA HARTE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/04/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410053 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): EPIC EATS, 122 HARRISON ST #6613, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): RAYMOND RODGERS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/04/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/05/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410086 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PICCOLO PLUMBING, 299 BONVIEW ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): LAUREN HAYNES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/22/2005. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/10/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410002 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): THE RUFF HOUSE, 816 SHOTWELL ST #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): LALA MOSS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/04/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410056 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ALDER, 600 DE HARO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): REAL PROPERTY AI CORP (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/04/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/05/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410069 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): H&L AUTO; AMAZON AUTOBODY, 1255 MONTGOMERY AVE, SAN BRUNO, CA 94066. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): GTOP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/06/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410070 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): GTOP RENTAL; HONEY BEE AUTO; BEE AUTOMOTIVE; VISTA AUTO WORKS, 1255B MONTGOMERY AVE, SAN BRUNO, CA 94066. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): GTOP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/06/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410068 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): HUES, 3053 FILLMORE ST #237, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): TAKE HUES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410065 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PORTAL MINDFUL RETREATS LLC, 1655 MISSION ST #1030, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/ Owner(s): PORTAL MINDFUL RETREATS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/06/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410083 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CASITO, 4601 GEARY BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): UMAMI FAMILIA LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/06/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410020 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): SAIKO HANDROLL BAR, 943 COLE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): CLOVER RESTAURANT GROUP LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/03/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410052 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): KAMELEON, 490 POST ST #2462, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): KAMELEON GROUP LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/05/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409808 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): BAYVIEW OYSTER BAR, 5114 3RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): AUNTIE APRIL’S POP UP SHOPS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/2026. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE 2026-0408151 The following has abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as PORTAL MINDFUL RETREATS, 1655 MISSION ST #1030, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by LAURA E. RAMOS. The fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/2026. The abandonment of fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/2026. AUG 13, 20, 27, SEP 03, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560870 Petitioner ROSA AMELIA RAMIREZ CARCAMO filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ROSA AMELIA RAMIREZ CARCAMO to proposed name AMELIA PANIAGUA RAMIREZ. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 22, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560871 Petitioner ANDREA NICOLE MOLINA RAMIREZ filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ANDREA NICOLE MOLINA RAMIREZ to proposed name ANDREA NICOLE PANIAGUA RAMIREZ. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 24, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560872 Petitioner ARMANDO STEVEN MOLINA RAMIREZ filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ARMANDO STEVEN MOLINA RAMIREZ to proposed name STEVEN PANIAGUA RAMIREZ. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 24, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560873 Petitioner ANGIE VALERIA MOLINA RAMIREZ filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ANGIE VALERIA MOLINA RAMIREZ to proposed name ANGIE PANIAGUA RAMIREZ. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 24, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560877 Petitioner ADRIENNA YU filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ADRIENNA YU to proposed name ADRIENNA HUIE. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 24, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560883 Petitioner KIRIA LEDRIAN MASON filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name KIRIA LEDRIAN MASON to proposed name KIRA LEDRIAN MASON. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 29, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560878 Petitioner SASHA KASHANI VERNICK filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name SASHA KASHANI VERNICK to proposed name SASHA KASHANI NILSEN. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: SEPTEMBER 29, 2026, 9:00am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0409964 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): HANSEN’S LAUNDERETTE, 4258 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): KEVIN WEI HAN CHEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2015. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/28/2026. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410120 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): GO ROAM TOURS, 322 12TH AVE #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): HEATHER EILEEN CASSELL. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/08/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/2026. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410136 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ARTHUR SEBASTIAN, 2285 UNION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): ARTHUR S. LESNIAK (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/17/2011. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/17/2026. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410133 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): J LEONARD STUDIO, 2964 CALIFORNIA ST #10, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): X JAIME LEONARD. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/17/2026. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0410093 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): FULTON FOOD SHOP, 1801 FULTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): IMAAN ALI 786 INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/10/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/10/2026. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 625313 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): AMAZI BUILDING AND DESIGN, 1954 MOUNTAIN BLVD #13061, OAKLAND, CA 94611. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/ Owner(s): AMAZI PARTNERS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of Alameda, CA on 08/11/2026. AUG 20, 27, SEP 03, 10, 2026

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diverse group of performers will return to the stage at The Stud to compete in “The Talent* Show All Stars,” a queer take on “America’s Got Talent.” The show plays August 20, September 17, and October 15, followed by a finale on November 13, all at The Stud bar. According to producer Whit Latimer, aka drag artist Florida Man, the competition will present acts that resist easy categorization. Such as Garrett Schlichte, a chef by day whose act consists of making mayonnaise from scratch while delivering a Laura Dern monologue with a perfectly straight face. The judges will be just as unusual. Judges will include a personal trainer, an opera singer, a 911 operator, drag performers, recruits from Craigslist, and District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who will serve for the finale. “People don’t totally get it at first, which was part of the fun,” Latimer said in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter. “But four seasons in, the show has developed its own language. Now we get completely wild open submissions from people who’ve never been onstage before, alongside season performers who want an excuse to try something they wouldn’t normally do. Some of the best acts aren’t the most technically talented, they’re the people who are the most authentically themselves. It’s a little like karaoke; the best singer doesn’t always win the room.” According to Latimer, “The Talent* Show” began as a weekly event that drew around fifteen people, and now it fills The Stud.

The Talent* Show All Stars

Unusual variety night returns to The Stud

The cast of a recent Talent* Show All Stars

It’s showtime

“For ‘All Stars,’ I wanted to bring back the people who really pushed the limits of what the show could be,” they said. Latimer added that they don’t do a lot of filtering when booking an act. If someone has always wanted to get onstage, they want them to have that opportunity. The show, they said, is an equalizer. There can be someone who’s performing for

the first time next to someone who’s been performing for years. “What I’m most drawn to is specificity and commitment,” they said. “I want to feel like only this person could have come up with this act. Technical skill helps, but it’s not the only thing that matters. Sometimes the person who completely owns three weird minutes onstage is the one everyone remembers, and sometimes it’s the

SF Queer Film Fest

Innovative LGBTQ Cinema at the Roxie

‘Velvet Vision,’ about James Bidgood’s film ‘Pink Narcissus,’ in the SF Queer Film Fest

by Brian Bromberger

eturning for its sixth year from August 21-23 at the Roxie Theater, The SF Queer Film Fest presents 13 different programs throughout the three days with six features and 49 shorts, including animation, web series, music videos, and documentaries. Executive Director Amir Jaffer writes, “SFQFF was born in response to being able to offer more queer filmmakers and filmgoer’s additional outlets to be able to screen and see films.” Jaffer has commented in previous years that there are now so many more queer films made and available, that the venerable Frameline Film Festival can’t screen them all, so SFQFF is happy to pick up the excess. Director of Programming Kevin M. Thomas commented that SFQFF had to turn down films because there wasn’t enough time to show everything submitted.

“This year in particular,” said Thomas, “we had an abundance of excellent submissions so we even had to turn away some we favor, making our final selections even tougher.” Jaffer is hopeful that because the response has been so big this year, they will try to find additional funding to add another day of screenings next year. Having viewed some of the films, here are a few promising ones. The best of the feature films is the documentary “Velvet Vision” on the life and career of beef-cake photographer, window dresser, drag artist, costume designer and director James Bidgood, who created the 1971 cult classic film “Pink Narcissus.” It’s an experimental kitschy erotic art film, with no dialogue, hyper-saturated colors, theatrical staging, artifice, and excess, visualizing dreamlike erotic nude fantasies of a gay male prostitute (Bobby Kendall) as he envisions him-

self in worlds where he is the central character (i.e. Roman slave boy). It’s surreal, lewd, sensual, and visually sophisticated. The movie took seven years to make with Bidgood building all the sets, creating the costumes, and filming the whole piece in his tiny apartment.

singer/songwriter with the most beautiful voice.” Latimer will be hosting the show as his Florida Man persona, a drag act they’ve been doing in the Bay Area for around ten years. She’s usually the face of the events they produce as themself. “I’m from Miami, and the character is rooted in those Florida Man headlines where you’d read See page 12 >>

Believing the editors had altered his original vision, he took his name off the film and substituted Anonymous. For 30 years, there was speculation that Andy Warhol, Kenneth Anger, or some other director had masterminded the film until journalist and author Bruce Benderson rediscovered the truth about Bidgood. Bidgood inspired photographic artists such as Pierre et Gilles and David LaChapelle. Filmmaker John Waters offers insightful commentary, especially about the challenges of being an out gay artist in the 1960s, as well as Bidgood’s influence on his own movies. Director Bart Everly heard that after a 40-year hiatus and living in virtual poverty in the same filthy, hoarded-filled apartment in New York City, Bidgood, under the patronage of fashion designer Christian Louboutin, was shooting new photographs, so he decided to make a documentary on Bidgood’s past as well as this recent project. The result is a mixed bag, as the editing is haphazard. It’s a shame Everly didn’t follow the meticulous presentation of Bidgood when putting the film together. However, Everly deserves the film awards’ equivalent of a Purple Heart, because Bidgood has to be one of the most unpleasant subjects of a documentary ever. He’s bipolar, mostly depressed and angry, lashing out at the crew as well as the other artists collaborating with him, obsessing about every minute detail. He’s the isolated uncompromising trailblazing artist who refused to dilute his gay vision. Attacked and ridiculed in his early years, wounding him for life, he alienates everyone in the process. The result was decades of obscurity despite laying the foundation of queer underground cinema. Bidgood is a tragic figure. He died of complication from COVID-19 in early 2022 at age 88. Though far from flawless, Everly has created an indelible portrait of the crazed contentious visionary refusing to compromise to the detriment of his own career. www.velvetvisionmovie.com The other highly recommended film is the 25-minute documentary, “Surviving Voices,” the latest installment of a series presented by the National AIDS Memorial. Launched in 2015, it’s a multi-year AIDS oral history project, ensuring stories and lessons of the

James Bidgood

See page 12 >>

Music>>

August 20-26, 2026 • Bay Area Repor ter • 11

Q-Music: the vinyl versions by Gregg Shapiro

ome diverse and unusual musical treats are out on vinyl with special extras, including trip-hop innovator Tricky, harpist Mikaela Davis, Buena Vista Social Club and ‘The Book of Mormon’ Original Broadway Cast Recording. Brace yourself. It’s been 31 years since the release of “Maxinquaye,” the acclaimed and groundbreaking debut album by trip-hop innovator Tricky. It’s also been six years between Tricky’s prior studio album and his new one, “Different When It’s Silent” (False Idols). For many of those who first came in contact with Tricky, it was his distinctive growl that caught their attention, along with the singular production values. On the new album, Tricky’s voice has been relegated to the background, sometimes merely a whisper, while Mitch Sanders takes (or shares) the lead on 12 of the album’s fourteen cuts. That’s not to say that collaboration hasn’t been a part of Tricky’s history as anyone who’s been listening to him since his early days with Massive Attack and on his early solo projects can attest. What remains on the new album is a captivating blend of straightforward alt-rock (“I’m Yours,” “Cannon Fodder,” “Paris Maybe”), rap (“Be Still In The Pain,” “Radana”), modern soul

(“Because I Don’t Know”), spoken word (“Marinade”), and exquisite pop (“Piano”). www.trickysite.com In addition to being a first-rate harpist, Mikaela Davis could be the Sheryl Crow of her generation. You can hear it on “Nothin’s on The Radio,” the second track on her suitably named new album “Graceland Way” (Kill Rock Stars), available on vivid “golden poppy” vinyl. The catchy song, which sounds like a lost Crow tune, has hit written all over it, even as it slams the current state of radio. Davis’ harp is an audible presence on “11:11,” the plucky “Wild Flower” (where it pairs nicely with Kurt G. Johnson’s pedal steel), the shimmery “Starlite Tonight,” and the slinky synth-beat-driven “Junk Love.” www.mikaeladavis.com

“South Park” co-creator Trey Parker teamed up with gay musical theater composer Marc Shaiman to create one of the best (and raunchiest) animated movie musicals to ever grace the big screen, 1999’s “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.” With a script co-written by “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone, the movie features songs that sound like classic musical theater but with graphic language. So, it’s not all that surprising that Parker and Stone would collaborate with another musical theater creator, in this case Robert Lopez of “Avenue Q” fame, for an actual Broadway musical, 2011’s Tony Award-winning “The Book of Mormon.” To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the musical, which continues to play on Broadway and has multiple national tours running, “The Book of

Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording” (Ghostlight) has been reissued on vinyl in a double LP set. The 16 brilliantly irreverent songs from the show, including “Hello!,” “Turn It Off,” “Sal Tlay Ka Siti,” “I Believe,” and “Tomorrow Is a Latter Day,” sound fantastic in this format. The commemorative edition also includes a colorful booklet containing photographs, Frank Rich’s original review, song lyrics, and song commentarybyParker,Stone,andLopez. bookofmormonbroadwaystore.com Originally released in 1997, “Buena Vista Social Club” (World Circuit/BMG), pressed on gorgeous pearl vinyl for the new double LP 30th anniversary edition, launched a phenomenon, including a 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary directed by Wim Wenders and a Tony Award-winning

‘All the Way Through Evening’ by Philip Campbell

he release of Scotsmen Robbie Milner, baritone and pianist Ben Eames’ album of modern art songs “All the Way Through Evening” celebrates and eulogizes composers profoundly affected by the AIDS crisis. Their creative expression was a means of doing something about it. The recital from Navona Records is just a small part of that generation of artists’ outpouring of grief, rage, love, and hope. Milner and Eames offer a touching reminder which hopefully will touch new listeners, many born years after the epidemic abated. This album of American works, released by Navona Records, highlights two song cycles by New York-based composer Chris DeBlasio as well as a selection of songs from both the 1993 AIDS Quilt Songbook and Ricky Ian Gordon’s 1995 collection, “A Horse with Wings.” The music of Chris DeBlasio (1959– 1993), a talented composer whose life was cut short by AIDS, takes pride of place as the album features his song cycles “All the Way Through Evening” and “In Endless Assent.” Set to poetry by Perry Brass and Elizabeth Bishop, they convey a special poignancy and pondering of what might have been. “All the Way Through Evening” is the perfect title for the recorded selection. The expressive words of Perry Brass (out and an activist since 1965) make “The Disappearance of Light,” “An Elegy to Paul Jacobs,” and “Walt Whitman in 1989” definitive highlights. Paul Jacobs was a prominent pianist, colleague of Aaron Copland, Pierre Boulez and Elliot Carter, who died of

Broadway musical that continues running to this day. An ensemble of Cuban musicians, gathered by co-producers Ry Cooder and Nick Gold, performing the son genre, make music that is timeless and enchanting. Even if you don’t speak a word of Spanish, it’s impossible not to be drawn in by the charms of each number. And don’t expect to experience this album while seated. Many of the songs, including “El Cuarto de Tula,” “Candela,” “El Carretero,” and “De Camino a La Vereda,” insist that dancing be involved. The vinyl reissue includes a fourth side comprised of four bonus tracks, including an alternate trio take on “Orgullecida,” as well as a 20-page booklet with lyrics, liner and song notes, and photos. www.buenavistasocialclub.comt

Baritone Robbie Milner’s vocal AIDS eulogy

with mentor/soprano Jayne West and pianist Kalden Alexander in Boston. In the United Kingdom, he collaborates with pianist Ben Eames, where they specialize in recitals promoting American Art-Song. Scottish pianist Eames performs extensively throughout the UK and is half of the Aurras Duo with Fiona Sweeney on flute. They aim to “discover lesser-known repertoire for flute and piano, and to highlight works by composers of under-represented groups, particularly minority genders, LGBTQ+ composers and composers from the BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority EthBaritone Robbie Milner and pianist Ben Eames community.” The Los Angeles Blade covers Los Angeles and California nic) news, His sensitive and fervent playpolitics, opinion, arts and entertainment and features national and ing adds greatly to the impact of international coverage from the Blade’s award-winning reporting The death of his lover from AIDS an AIDS-related illness in 1983. cerebral response to the crisis. They “All the Way through Evening.” part this exciting LGBT could not dim serving the invaluable Gor- Los Angeles “In Endless Assent” does not ad- team. may Be be the mostof obviously “classical” publication The album and single songs are behind the Washington Blade, ﬁavailable rst LGBT don’s brilliance and it isthe great nation’s to know dress a lesbian identity in the latefrom artthe songteam selections. Robbie Milner’ s through all major streamnewspaper. theeasy freeway the Beltway we’veBesides, got you ing covered. legacy is still growing. prize-winning poet Elizabeth Bishclear dictionFrom makes them to un- tohis platforms, including Amazon and his music is unrepentantly catchy, so op’s words. Considering her lifelong derstand and Ben Eames’ piano adds Apple. But I highly recommend taking much for the stigma of “classical” murestraint, it is understandable, but warmth. a listen on Spotify, where a stunning sic categorization. her lines obviously still resonated rendition of DeBlasio’s song cycle by Sincere selections Robbie Milner is considered a barifor composer DeBlasio. “Insomnia” the late baritone Michael Dash may The relatively brief recital is roundtone, but he sounds much more like is the musing of a sleepless person be heard as part of a compilation “And ed and sealed with a set of wonderful a tenor in the recital here. To my ear, gazing at the reflection of an aloof Trouble Came- Musical responses to songs by Ricky Ian Gordon. Most of he is also a tenor with lots of vibrato moon in her mirror and projecting AIDS” (1996) with the composer himthem come from his 1995 collection (distracting at times, effective at othher own feelings of isolation, longing self at the piano. “A Horse with Wings.” Two are seters) and, he is ever so subtly flat at the and, defiance. The musical setting is While there, try chanteuse Andrea tings of poems by Emily Dickinson beginning of the program. It sounds masterful. Marcovicci’s lovely cover of Ricky Ian (the haunting “Will There Really Be a like there weren’t enough takes, as his “The Flute of Interior Time” John Gordon’s “A Horse with Wings” from Morning?”) and Edna St. Vincent Milfragile sound audibly strengthens as Harbison, composer; Kabir, lyricist her album, “New Words.” This is replay’s “Souvenir.” the collection proceeds. has been included from the AIDS ertoire that must be recognized and “I Never Knew” and “A Horse with He professes a love and fascination Quilt Songbook. From the same colpreserved.t Wings” have been recorded before with American composers and singlection comes famous gay composer with memorable performances by ers, coming to Boston after a time in Ned Rorem’s “A Dream of Nightinwww.robbiemilnerbaritone.com the prolific singing composer himCanada and, of course, his native Edgales” with David Bergman, lyricist. www.beneamespianist.com self, and it is great to hear them again. inburgh. Milner continues to work Both works show a philosophical and www.navonarecords.com

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<< Theater

12 • Bay Area Repor ter • August 20-26, 2026

SF Playhouse’s ‘R.O.I’ by Jim Gladstone

lot twists, double-crosses, sexual trysts, and power grabs fuel the sleek, comic near-future thriller “R.O.I. (Return on Investment),” a brainy, breakneck new play written by Aaron Loeb (“First Person Shooter”), commissioned by San Francisco Playhouse, and now playing at the Creativity Theater in Yerba Buena Gardens. Speeding through the risky intersection of venture capitalism and biotech, the play sideswipes an array of ethically fraught topics, including eugenics, healthcare access, racial determinism, and brakeless, careening capitalism. It’s an exhilarating ride, even when details begin to blur.

Fast and furious

Deftly directed by Jonathan Moscone, “R.O.I” concentrates the energy, soap suds and narrative tangle of a full season of “Succession” or “The Morning Show” into 90 breathless minutes. We meet bright-eyed investment associate May Lee (Sharon Shao) as she’s corralling new clients for her glib middle-age mentor, VC whiz Paul Montrose (Broadway vet Anthony Fusco).

When May brings Dr. Willa McGovern (Lauren English), an altruistic young scientist whose aspirations include curing cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, to the funding table, a decadelong whirl of deals and duplicity begins. Montrose has made his name as an ethical investor, intent on improving the world for everyone. But it’s clear from the outset that personal profit is his north star. His manifold microaggressions toward May, his young, female, Chinese American underling, are insidious and destabilizing. At one point, May describes him as giving “peak Valley douchebag.” Fusco’s performance is a wicked delight, giving us a smart, self-satisfied uber-W.A.S.P. with little interest in differentiating between a sting and a tickle. Things are not nearly as tidy in the minds of the women Montrose takes under his wings, then sets viciously pecking upon each other. May’s investment in Willa’s technologies is emotional as well as financial. She has a family history of Alzheimer’s disease. Willa enters as a meek Pollyanna but becomes an unhinged Pandora, seduced by the allure of money and personal power. English is admirably subtle in revealing the slow unhing-

A bull market for funny business

Jessica Palopoli

Lauren English, Sharon Shao and Anthony Fusco in San Francisco Playhouse’s “R.O.I. (Return on Investment)’

ing of the play’s most challenging character. Turns of her head and glimmers of her eyes build ferocity from scene to scene as the years and investment rounds pass on her way to becoming the looniest of unicorns. The story whipsaws between deceits from start to finish, with this trio of characters morphing through every permutation of two-against-one.

Left to Right: ‘Surviving Voices,’ ‘Mean Goals’ and ‘Snow Falling on Pumpkins’ in the SF Queer Film Fest

Queer Film Fest

From page 10

epidemic are captured, curated, and retained for future generations. Past installments include a focus on long-time survivors, the Latin X/Hispanic, Black, Transgender, Substance Users and Recovery communities & AIDS, as well as AIDS Memorial Quilt Panel Makers. This year it will be copresented by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with a panel discussion moderated by Sister Roma. This year the theme is AIDS caregivers, the doctors, nurses, friends,

families, and partners of loved ones dying from AIDS while the rest of the world abandoned them, especially in the early years of the pandemic. Dr. Paul Vollberding, who worked at San Francisco General Hospital on Ward 5B, shares his frustrations at not being able to provide effective treatment for patients given a death sentence. 40+ years later he still has a haunted expression on his face as do the nurses, who tried to do their best under impossible circumstances. They are literally war veterans struggling with some version of PTSD. They’re also heroes whose stories deserve to be preserved

and treasured, which this film has so admirably done. The opening night feature, “Sweet Nothing” written/directed by local filmmaker Robby Kendall, concerns a new community center director who needs to find a drag queen to lead bingo night, resulting in his internalized homophobia starting to unravel his relationship with his partner and himself. In the 17-minute short, “Mean Goals,” a young gay Latino attempts to join a queer soccer team as a way to bond with his father, who is strug-

Proudly Celebrating our 49th Year! 1977 – 2025

Monday 8am (last seating 9:45pm) Tuesday Open 24 Hours Wednesday Open 24 Hours Thursday Open 24 Hours Friday Open 24 Hours Saturday Open 24 Hours Sunday 7am (last seating 9:45pm)

Brandon Roberts

The Talent* Show All Stars host/producer Whit Latimer, aka Florida Man

ORPHAN-ANDYS-2025.indd 1

The Talent* Show

From page 10

something and think ‘there’s no way that actually happened,’ but then, of course, it did,” they said. “That’s the energy she brings to a room, commit to something ridiculous hard enough that everyone starts to believe in it for a minute. She’s toured internationally in Germany, Ireland and the UK, and has headlined events from New Orleans to Boston to Tucson. She’s also one of the winners of the late Heklina’s legendary ‘Star Search’ competition.”

3991-A 17th Street at Market & Castro (415) 864-9795 4/2/26 10:11 AM

Calling the options

Loeb’s sharp-pointed dialogue – we hear of slitting pigs’ throats, “designer babies,” and “kids cosplaying as entrepreneurs”– is doubly diverting. It not only entertains us, it keeps us distracted as the characters’ conversations bop between hot topics without ever quite working any argument through to an end. “R.O.I.” lands more as a comedy of manners about human motivations,

communications and ways of persuasion, than a play that really tackles the contemporary issues it touches upon. And there’s nothing wrong with setting a delicious, backstabbing Noel Coward-worthy social circus in the realm of today’s tech world. But there are signs that Loeb may have been reaching for more. The brief opening and closing scenes, tonally divergent from the rest of the show, feature a fourth performer, Bonnie Akimoto, and a fizzled attempt at a time-warping wallop. Squished into the margins, they point to profundities that the rest of the play simply doesn’t have time to plumb. They’re misbegotten bookends, unreasonably demanding the same degree of attention we’ve been giving to the material between them. “R.O.I.” would benefit from either a trim or an expansion, but it’s already a rewarding evening of theater. Another thoughtful round of investment on the part of its writer and producers could maximize its payout.t ‘R.O.I: Return on Investment,’ through Sept. 5. $45-$85. Creativity Theater, 221 4th St. www.sfplayhouse.org

gling from Alzheimer’s. The team members, however, are mean and discouraging. The second night feature, “Snow Falling on Pumpkins” revolves around Michael, who at age 43 is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, which unravels his life. He finds healing and wisdom from a Cherokee spiritual guide and steadfast love from James, who becomes his husband. It’s a tender story, though the pacing can be slow. It has its moving moments and does avoid being sentimental, though at times it has a New Agey tinge to it, but the anchor here is the honest, heartfelt chemistry between the two male leads. It does draw attention to a particularly pernicious version of this horrible disease. The third night feature, the bittersweet but surprisingly affective “In This Moment” chronicles a betrayal that shatters the marriage of a Filipino American writer and his husband, as they try to repair their relationship. People in monogamous partnerships will have much to discuss here. In the short, “Birds of Paradise,” a 1930s Hollywood lesbian director battles the Motion Picture Production

Code Administration to protect her queer film from the censors, a homage to lesbian Hollywood director Dorothy Arzner. The short “Cockroach” revolves around a Black transgender man who plans to exchange sex for top surgery money with an older gay man until his night hook up turns into a hunt for a cockroach, who inspires him to open his heart and conquer his fears. It stars John Cameron Mitchell of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” fame. Finally, “Just Not Naked Enough” is a bitter cathartic narrative short that follows two estranged husbands, Alex and David, who reunite to celebrate their shared birthday, but also to confront past grievances, depression, and sexual disloyalty of their fractured relationship, by a poolside. David Pevsner (best known for the web series “Old Dogs and New Tricks”) plays David.t

They went on to explain why such a drag persona is so perfect for “The Talent* Show.” “Most recently she went viral for staging Kelly Boeing Clarkson with her drag family, a 23-minute dramatic recreation of the 2024 Boeing 737 airplane door failure entirely to the discography of Kelly Clarkson,” Latimer said. “That’s why she fits ‘The Talent* Show” so beautifully. The show depends on everyone in the room agreeing, for a few minutes at a time, that whatever is happening onstage absolutely counts as talent. Florida Man is there to hold that world together and give everyone permission to play along.”

come a talent, almost anyone can get onstage, and almost anyone can have a point of view worth listening to,” they said. “I want people to see someone do something completely unexpected and think, ‘wait, maybe I could do something too.’”t

SF Queer Film Fest, $16.78 single tickets; $268 full festival pass, August 21-23 at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St. www.roxie.com www.sfqueerfilmfest.com

The Talent* Show All Stars, August 20, September 17, October 15, November 13, 8pm. The Stud, 1123 Folsom St. $15. instagram.com/floridamannetwork instagram.com/ thetalentshownetwork studsf.com

She ate

The acts are certainly unusual. Besides Garrett the mayonnaise man, there’s Dusty, who, according to Latimer, once ate an entire rotisserie chicken onstage to Adele. He had the audience completely in the palm of his hand while barely doing anything. When he returned for the finale, he repeated the number, this time without eating the chicken at all, which somehow made it even funnier. Latimer hopes that people will leave “The Talent* Show” feeling like the world is a little more open than they thought it was. “The whole show is built around the idea that almost anything can be-

Brandon Roberts

A pole dancer at a previous Talent* Show All Stars

<< Books

14 • Bay Area Repor ter • August 20-26, 2026

Ed Madden

Queer poet on stage band, Stevie Nicks and other inspirations

by Gregg Shapiro

homosexuality would not only be grounded, for me, in social and sexual and religious shame, but also in the early caution and terror of the AIDS epidemic.

n educator and activist, in addition to being a writer, poet Ed Madden has numerous full-length collections to his name, as well as multiple chapbooks, most recently two published as part of Squares & Rebels’ Chaps Poetry Series: “Arkansas Luggage” (2025) and “I Asked Him What He Needed” (2026). Gregg Shapiro: Ed, from 20152022, you were the inaugural poet laureate for the City of Columbia, South Carolina. Please say a few words about your experience in that role. Ed Madden: I served two four-year terms as the inaugural poet laureate for the City of Columbia. It was the first city poet laureate position in the state. The original resolution creating the position was simple: promote poetry and literary arts to young people, read for an official city event, and be available to speak at schools and libraries. I expanded the role a bit to imagine poetry as a public art and to think about the possibilities for poetry as a public voice. Early on, a council member asked me to write a poem in response to the horrific Charleston church shooting, and I realized that the position came with both an implicit expectation of a public voice and an explicit opportunity for speaking publicly to issues and events in a way that would be different from journalism or political voices. How could poetry, and the arts more generally, help a community to define itself, who we were, who we are, and who we could be. In addition, because Columbia has been a city interested in public art, I wanted to think of ways poetry could also be a public art. So, we put poems on city buses, on coffee sleeves, on movie theatre

Left: Poet Ed Madden Right: Some of poet Ed Madden’s books

screens, on sidewalks, on fake parking tickets. I always used local voices. For over a decade, I worked with a summer arts program for middle school students, and it was really fun to include their poems in these projects. When I had the honor of reading with you in March 2026 at Queer Haven Books in Columbia, we discovered that we each had a poem in “White Winged Doves: A Stevie Nicks Poetry Anthology.” Was your poem, “Tusk,” written specifically for the anthology or did it already exist when you received the call for submissions? Kind of both. I had already been writing a series of poems I called “Playlist” poems. First songs, dance tracks, songs central to my coming out (like the songs played in the first gay bars I went to). The poems are little micromemoir sequences, songs tethering me to a historical moment, sometimes prompts for remembering, sometimes a structure for holding that memory. Songs seem like useful ways to think about history and memory. So, I hadn’t written the poem yet, but this was a song I’d been thinking about.

Chris DelSalvo by Laura Moreno

hris DelSalvo (pen name of Christian Ramirez) has written “The Late Hour, Stories for the Insomniac: Volume III – Confessions.” It is stand-alone literary novel that centers around a man who has spent his life hiding behind liquor to escape the pain of a teenage tragedy. When an unexpected affair opens old wounds, Ray is forced to confront decades of unresolved grief, shame, and the crushing weight of secrets.

What can you tell the readers about the poem? It’s about growing up as a queer kid in a fundamentalist church in rural America. It’s about high school band. It’s about being all urge and noise and not yet able to really articulate who you are. And it’s about leaving home. Ask me if I’m going to stay. Ask me if I’m going away. That was the crux, wasn’t it? Could I stay there, or did I have to leave to be who I am. I had to leave. Where does Stevie Nicks land on your favorite list of singer/ songwriters, and who are some of your other favorites? Honestly, back then I was more into disco. Donna Summer, Evelyn “Champagne” King, Anita Ward, Lipps Inc. Urge and noise of a different kind! Then as I left for college I leaned more and more into B52s, Gary Numan and Bronski Beat. As you said, your poem “Tusk,” mentions being in the marching band, a subject that recurs in the piece “Playlist: dance tracks” from your 2025 chapbook “Arkansas Luggage.” Please say a few words about being in a marching

band, also about the songs mentioned in “Playlist.” I moved from playing clarinet… yes, I know, so gay [laughs]…to playing saxophone. In my last two years of high school, I was the drum major. I briefly tried to stick with marching and jazz band in college but eventually gave that up for other interests. The songs are all songs that take me back to particular ways of thinking and particular memories. Looking back, I’d say now that popular music allowed me to begin to explore who I was in a way that felt evasive, indirect. Evelyn “Champagne” King isn’t gay, but that song hit me deep, consciously or unconsciously, maybe a little of both. It’s all about how “Mama just don’t understand” what you feel. And you know somehow that what you feel makes you feel shame to your core, but you know it also has the potential to change the rules. I couldn’t have said that, then, but I could sing that song. That playlist poem ends with Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” 1981. The year I graduated, also the year that the New York Times first reported on AIDS, a new gay cancer. A reminder to me that I came out at the very moment

Being queer, and being a queer poet, are political acts on a daily basis. In what ways do you think poetry and poets can make a difference at this turbulent time? I don’t know that poetry can make a difference in policy. But poetry can, I hope, bear witness, document, testify. And poetry can, I hope, slow things down. In the work I did as the city poet laureate, putting poems in places you wouldn’t expect to find poems, we called that work “guerilla poetry.” Impromptu, sometimes unsanctioned, sometimes resistant. We wanted to make space, create moments for reflection, raise awareness in a different way, re-center our attention on the human, on the community around us. In the barrage of cruelty and ignorance we face daily now, maybe poetry is another language of resistance: a language that makes us slow down, makes us refocus on the human, a language of witness. I hope so. Irish poet Seamus Heaney, who wrote through the Troubles (in Ireland), used the story of Jesus and the woman detained for adultery. We usually focus on that little quip of judgment, let he who is without sin cast the first stone, but Heaney pointed out that Jesus kneels and writes in the sand before he says that. We don’t know what he wrote. All we know is that for that moment, everything stopped. Poetry is that writing in the sand.t Read more on www.ebar.com. www.squaresandrebels.com www.poets.org/poet/ed-madden

Author discusses ‘The Late Hour, Stories for the Insomniac: Volume III – Confessions’

By far, “Volume III - Confessions” is the most personal installment of “The Late Hour: Stories for the Insomniac” series. It is a raw, unflinching look at gay identity and faith. As the emotional core of the series, the book features compelling writing and an immediacy that creates an intimate connection with readers, making us feel we are experiencing the character’s turmoil firsthand. DelSalvo’s character-driven narrative is grounded in real honesty and stands out for its authentic portrayal of La-

tino identity. To give an overview of the trilogy set in Southern California, Volume I uses a late-night radio broadcast called “The Other Realm” to welcome readers into a dark, atmospheric universe of urban suspense. The collection features late-night vignettes focused on the deep tension between what people hide and what they show about their lives to the world. “Volume II” has new characters navigating tense, late-night dilemmas. In one story, “One Way Love,” a character undertakes a dangerous journey through flooded streets during a hurricane to see his girlfriend. The narrative structure of “Volume III” mirrors DelSalvo’s own internal struggles, moving between past and present to show how seemingly small choices can lead to life-altering consequences. It is a nuanced, unapologetic portrait of a man at a crossroads. One of the major strengths of this volume is its fearless approach to difficult subject matter. DelSalvo allows space for grief, for doubt, for the messy process of reconciling different aspects of identity. He is willing to sit with uncomfortable truths. “The Late Hour: Volume III – Confessions” is a significant contribution to LGBT literature. It fills an important niche in candidly addressing the specific challenges faced by those dealing with family expectations. Both deeply personal and universally resonant, this book is a testament to the author’s commitment to telling stories that matter. DelSalvo recently answered a few questions for the Bay Area Reporter: Laura Moreno: What is your advice to writers? How do you plan out your stories? Chris DelSalvo: My advice to writ-

Author Chris DelSalvo

ers is to write with your heart first. When you’re working on a first draft, don’t edit yourself. Let it be messy, raw, and imperfect. The most important thing is getting the story onto the page. Once the draft exists, that’s when you can switch gears and write with your head during the editing process. I find rewriting much easier because I’m working with something that’s already there. As for planning my stories, I almost always know the ending before I begin writing. Knowing where the story is headed helps me leave the right breadcrumbs for the reader so everything comes together in a satisfying way. Whenever I’ve tried writing without knowing the ending, the story tends to wander because I’m throwing ideas at the page and hoping they stick. Before I start writing, I usually spend time taking notes, developing characters, and figuring out where the story is going. Sometimes my first draft looks more like a very long outline than a finished manuscript. Did you always want to be a writer? I’ve always wanted to be a storytell-

er. My background is actually in filmmaking. I graduated from film school and spent years writing screenplays and making short films. Storytelling has always been what pulled me in, whether through movies, books, or simply writing down ideas. Over time, I found myself drawn to writing fiction because it gave me the freedom to explore characters and emotions more deeply. “Confessions” grew out of my desire to tell stories about identity, lost love, and the secrets we carry. As a gay Latino writer, I wanted to create stories that reflected experiences and struggles that I didn’t often see represented when I was younger. While I didn’t always know I would become a novelist, I always knew I wanted to tell stories that connected with people and made them feel seen.t

Read more at ebar.com. ‘The Late Hour, Stories for the Insomniac: Volume III – Confessions’ by Chris DelSalvo, $15.99. www.winestoneent83. wixsite.com/christianramirez

Books>>

August 20-26, 2026 • Bay Area Repor ter • 15

Comic book auteur Fernando Velez by Stephen LeBlanc

welve years in the making, the independent graphic novel “The Queen’s Heroes,” about six LGBTQ superheroes, is based in part on San Francisco residents and locations. It is available now as a 678-page digital edition and will arrive as a largeformat print version, the “Founder Collector Edition,” in San Francisco in September. Creator Fernando Velez will be in San Francisco that month to introduce and promote the book alongside a slate of companion tabletop games, and will be at a booth at the Castro Street Fair on October 4 for a public meet and greet and to show and sell his work. Velez, who has moved several times during the making of the book, is currently living in Mexico City. He wrote, designed, and financed the book largely alone, working with a small, rotating group of Venezuela-based artists over more than a decade. As with any superhero, Velez has an origin story, which he tells in detail in the prologue to “The Queen’s Heroes” and in the pages of his magazine and other materials on his website. In the phone interview, Velez told the Bay Area Reporter that as a kid growing up in Puerto Rico, superhero comics were not the escape he hoped they would be. “I never found characters like me,” Velez said. “I didn’t feel…secure. You know what I mean? I wanted to not be so invisible.” Over the past 12 years, he has dedicated his substantial creative energy to correcting that invisibility, building a mythical universe centered on queer heroes as humanity’s only hope.

Complex tale

A review of the digital edition of “The Queen’s Heroes” reveals a complex tale equal to Velez’s ambition. Its artwork is dense and cinematic, rendered in richly saturated color with dramatic, sometimes explosive, linework. It is a beautiful and fitting visual match for the story it illustrates, an extended, generations-spanning struggle between the Queen’s Heroes and the forces working to destroy them, told over 12 different episodes. The story has been with him, he said, since he was a teenager filling notebooks in Yauco, on Puerto Rico’s southwest coast. At the time of his earlier interview in 2022 with the B.A.R., this universe was illustrated in “Class6,” a digital episodic graphic series about six queer superheroes drawn from across the community. The novel’s central question, “Is humanity worth saving?” is put to readers

Comic artist Fernando Velez

as directly as it is to the heroes. “I don’t think any other superhero universe has dared to ask that question,” he said, “especially from the marginalized heroes who now have to save them.” Velez traces it back to his own adolescence. “I was coming out, and people didn’t accept me. They took me to religious camps. They tried to change me. And I was like, if this queer kid has power, would he save our world? I wouldn’t say he would. I’d try to erase him but he’s still with me, for so long.”

Velez has built a short public survey around the same question. “We’re living in such extraordinary times, when good and bad are rising stronger at the same time,” he said. “I wanted to create a historical record of how we feel at this point in humanity.” Velez has described his last 12 years as largely solitary, single-minded work fueled by an unwillingness to stop even when he intended to take a break. “I love creating. I love writing,” he said. “I get a new idea almost every week.” The original series and the new book feature Queen Izaar, an immortal drag superhero created to save humanity. The character was modeled after San Francisco icon Sister Roma, and Episode 6 of “Class6” featured a gathering at the Lookout Bar. As he explained in 2022, “When I first moved to San Francisco, she was always there, supporting the community and using her voice to advocate and fundraise.”

written around it.” Velez says his work on what became “The Queen’s Heroes” universe was made possible by a string of encouraging friends and mentors met across two decades, and by Kraven Magazine, a fashion and queer culture publication he created years before he fully conceived of the heroes. “The Queen’s Heroes” sits alongside other superhero stories centered on queer characters. British writer Joe Glass’s “The Pride,” which began in 2014 as a crowdfunded digital series before landing at Dark Horse Comics as a print omnibus, follows a team of LGBTQ superheroes. Both projects share an origin in independent, community-centered crowdfunding rather than a publisher’s green light.

artists over 12 years, led by a Venezuela-based penciler he has worked with for more than a decade. “Doris is my main penciler,” he said. “She lives inside my mind. Somehow she always gets exactly what I want.” The Founder Collector Edition of “The Queen’s Heroes,” a limited print run in a larger collector format with fabric hardcover, dust jacket, and slipcase, is priced at $150. The Digital Collector Edition, listed at $24.99, is available on the website in English, and soon also in Spanish. “It’s my language, it’s my people,” Velez said of the decision to publish in Spanish. According to Velez, the earlier “Class6” print run of 3,000 copies has sold out through a mix of event appearances and online sales.t

Collaborative art

‘The Queen’s Heroes’ Founder Collector Edition, $150 (update: sold out); Digital Collector Edition, $24.99. Meet Fernando Velez at the Castro Street Fair, Oct. 4. www.kraven.us www.instagram.com/kraven.us

Velez designs the rough illustration layouts himself and writes the text, while drawing and hand lettering are done by professional artists. He stated the finished book required 10 to 13

Heroic homage

The rest of Velez’s original six superheroes were created as an homage to various cultures within the LGBTQ community. Neveah, a transgender superhero, is introduced as a homeless teenager cast out by her father. Jaseri, a lesbian hero, survives violence within her own family before discovering she descends from a nearly extinguished human lineage. Kian, Nami, and Eron round out the six as the group’s bear, twink, and leather heroes. In “The Queen’s Heroes,” Velez incorporated the 252 pages of the earlier episodic stories with 370 new pages to create an expanded, unified graphic novel. He integrated the old stories with the new by keeping the drawings, but editing the text. “Once a page is drawn, I can’t change an expression or a mood,” he explained. “I can only change what’s

Fernando Velez (right), with friends, playing ‘The Queen’s Heroes’ board game

GOING OUT

TOP 20+ ARTS & NIGHTLIFE EVENTS

AUGUST 20-28

Professional headshots / profile pics Weddings / Events Elegant, classy, tasteful, risqué, raunchy; there are a lot of adjectives to describe our various arts and nightlife events this week (including the glamorous GAPA Runway at the Herbst Theatre; see photo), but we’ll stick to the facts for your perusal in Going Out, only on www.ebar.com.

StevenUnderhill 415 370 7152 • StevenUnderhill.com

San Francisco Black Pride WeeK Aug 24-30, 2026

VOLUNTEER! MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2026

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2026

XTREME STEP HIP HOP WITH TIMOTHY H. SF LGBT CENTER • 5:30-7:30 PM

FREE STI & HIV DROP IN TESTING MAGNET • ALL DAY

Xtreme Hip-Hop Step is a high-energy fitness class that combines step aerobics with hip hop music and dance, offering a fun and full-body cardio workout with dynamic routines set to old and new school tracks.

SOUND BATH WITH BOUNDLESS MINDS SF LGBT CENTER • 5:30-7:30 PM

Boundless Minds offers guided sound bath experiences designed to help you slow down, reconnect and reset. Through crystal singing bowls, gentle meditation, and mindful reflection, each session creates a space for relaxation and mental clarity. Whether you’re looking to unwind or simply be present, you’re invited to come as you are and leave feeling more grounded.

VOGUE AND TONE WITH SIR JOQ DANCE MISSION STUDIO • 8:00 PM

Not only will you learn the history of Vogue, but you’ll receive an intense workout. Jocquese will break down each element from Hands to Spins, Catwalk to Duck walk, Dips to Floor Performance. Each element has specific movements that will strengthen and tone different parts of the body. The choreography will be infused with other forms of dances such as jazz, modern, ballet, hip-hop and Afro-Haitian.

PILLOWS DRAG SHOW POWERHOUSE• 9:00 PM

Pillows is back with a very special show at Powerhouse in San Francisco! Performances and special guests! Fun and frivolity on a Monday night. Live at the Powerhouse!

TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2026 QWOCMAP FILM SCREENING: QUEER BLACK AUGUST THE STUD • 6:00-900 PM

Join us for a another powerful evening featuring short film excerpts provided by QWOCMAP and concluding with a panel discussion and community conversation. A graveyard becomes a site of connection. A drumbeat carries survival. The universe retold through Black trans creation. A girl chasing perfection through magic. Love pulled apart, examined, undone. Six films that move through grief, lineage, and becoming where resistance is intimate, and transformation refuses to wait.

Drop in for free STI testing during SF Black Pride Week! The first 20 participants will receive a token to be entered into a drawing to win free tickets to one of our weekend ticketed events.

BLAQ MOTION CLUB STRUT - DOLORES PARK LOOP

BMC Run/Walk with conclusion space for community connection. Whether you’re looking to unwind or simply be present, you’re invited to come as you are and leave feeling more grounded. All paces welcome!

MUTUAL ATTRACTION: A Bondage Jam and Play Party for BLACK QUEER TRANS ONLY PRESENTED BY B TOURMALINE EROS SF - 7:00PM - 1:00 AM

Bondage demos will happen in the beginning with a consent opening circle. | $20 ENTRY. Enjoy light snacks and refreshments after play. Volunteer opportunities available for DMS. COVID testing will be required before entering. Email baytourmaline@gmail. com for volunteering directly. Take a Staygoodgood at home STI test and the first 20 people to submit get free entry. We will have some swap and goodies for everyone who comes: Get tested!

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2026 VOGUE AND TONE WITH SIR JOQ ODC • 8:00 PM

THROW-IT-BACK Q BAR • 9:00 PM - 2:00AM

90s/2000s themed R&B and Hip Hop party at Q Bar. Dress the part! We want to see your best 90s and early 2000s attire — beepers, baggy clothes, jersey dresses, bucket hats, bandanas, oversized hoops, velour tracksuits... bring it ALL.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2026 SATURDAY FESTIVAL (BLOCK PARTY) SF LGBT CENTER • 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: Featuring Deja Skye of RuPaul’s Drag Race as well as Pressure K from Drag Kings.

EXCLUSIVE LGBTQ MEDIA SPONSOR