January 15, 2026 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

AIDS issues at forum

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Mark Morris

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Sacto man dies after beating

ARTS

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Gay TV

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Vol. 56 • No. 3 • January 15-21, 2026

SF sheriff responds to letter about female, trans strip search Courtesy ACLU

Becky Pepper-Jackson had her case heard before the U.S. Supreme Court January 13.

Justices seem poised to uphold trans athlete bans by Lisa Keen

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he U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to allow state bans barring trans women and girls from playing on female athletic teams. That was the takeaway Tuesday, January 13, after several hours of oral arguments in two cases from West Virginia and Idaho. Both states have bans barring trans athletes from competing on female sports teams. In this flashpoint in the culture wars, many states – and parents – fear their cisgender girls could be at an unfair advantage competing against transgender females. During oral arguments, the justices considered such issues as do transgender females who have taken puberty blockers at an early age and have not developed physical traits have an advantage over other female athletes. They also discussed more scholarly pursuits, where many girls vastly outperform boys. They considered whether states should ban girls from classes trying to bring boys up-tospeed academically and if competitive chess teams should be separated into boys and girls. And they questioned if a cisgender boy wanted to compete in track on a girls’ team because he was a poor athlete and did not have a chance to make the boys’ team. In the end, the conservative majority seemed likely to uphold the state bans. It’s unclear whether the justices will craft a narrow ruling or a broader one that could affect other transgender rights. Several justices said they considered the record unclear or underdeveloped. They did not think Congress had clearly defined the word “sex” in 1972 when it passed Title IX of the Education Amendments Act. That legislation states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance….” Nearly all secondary schools and about 90% of colleges and universities receive federal funding for various purposes. See page 8 >>

by John Ferrannini

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an Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto is responding to concerns about the treatment of female and transgender people in the county jails. Those concern allegations of a mass strip search of incarcerated women that occurred last spring. This, as the sheriff’s office also stated that there is not an issue of overcrowding in the jails. Relatedly, a top city staffer to the Board of Supervisors has apologized for an employee in the clerk’s office using an anachronistic, offensive term for trans people in an email to the board that forwarded the letter from Miyamoto. The sheriff ’s office was among city and county governmental organizations that received a letter December 16 from 31 local organizations authored by Julia Arroyo of the Young Women’s Freedom Center. The letter to Miyamoto, Mayor Daniel Lurie, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and the Board of Supervisors states that on May 22, deputies ordered at least 19 women to undress in front of one another in a mass strip search, during which they were ridiculed and mocked. The proceedings were apparently filmed on the officers’ body-worn cameras. Lurie’s office referred to the sheriff’s office for comment; Mandelman didn’t return a request for comment.

Courtesy the subject

San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto said there will be an investigation into an alleged mass strip search of female prisoners in the county jail.

Mission Local reported on the incident after a legal claim was filed with the city on behalf of the women, who were in the B-Pod of the county jail, by Elizabeth Bertolino, founding attorney of the Bertolino Law Firm. Bertolino was unavailable for comment, and the firm did not return comment by press time. The claim states that the women “were forced to strip in an open setting, were subjected to visual

body-cavity searches, and were required either to undergo or to witness these invasive searches while male deputies, some armed with weapons, stood by watching, laughing and making comments.” The December 16 letter from advocates states, “Genuine public safety requires the protection of people who are the most vulnerable, including people who are incarcerated. City policies that have prioritized an extreme punishment approach to social challenges have filled our jails to capacity and are directly endangering cisgender and trans women who have been caught in the system. We are also deeply concerned that the Sheriff’s Office is effectively condoning gendered violence in the jail by failing to take the reports of the mass strip searches seriously and by allowing the supervisors and deputies involved to remain in positions of authority over the impacted women. To date, our understanding is that no one involved has even been removed from Pod B.” Their letter makes a number of requests of city leaders, including but not limited to asking the sheriff’s office to suspend all deputies and supervisors involved; asking the district attorney’s office to support pre-trial release of the impacted women; and asking Lurie and the Board of Supervisors to withhold new funding to the sheriff’s office “until the community’s demands are met.” See page 4 >>

Mandelman seeks to landmark late gay Ambassador Hormel’s former home by Matthew S. Bajko

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s part of his push to designate historic properties as city landmarks to protect them from being destroyed, gay San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is seeking such local recognition for the one-time home of the late gay U.S. Ambassador James. C. Hormel. The stately Queen Anne Victorian situated across the street from Buena Vista Park was built in the late 1890s and survived the 1906 earthquake. It is one of 28 properties Mandelman announced Tuesday that he is requesting be deemed local landmarks. The Hormel mansion at 181 Buena Vista Avenue East on the corner of Duboce Avenue is the only one related to LGBTQ history, Mandelman told the Bay Area Reporter in an exclusive interview ahead of the board meeting at which he introduced the landmarking ordinances. “It is a combination of the house itself is beautiful and a historic resource certainly; on top of that, it is associated with a very important figure in queer history,” said Mandelman, president of the board, for why he included the Hormel mansion among his latest landmark requests. According to the Citywide Historic Context Statement for LGBTQ History in San Francisco,

Matthew S. Bajko

The former San Francisco home of late U.S. Ambassador James C. Hormel has been proposed to be a local landmark.

Hormel purchased the home in 1986 and lived there for 26 years. The heir to the Hormel meatpacking fortune, Hormel became a prominent philanthropist who helped launch such LGBTQ organizations as the Human Rights

Campaign and the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center housed at the San Francisco Public Library’s main branch. See page 2 >>

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2 • Bay Area Repor ter • January 15-21, 2026

Alleged killer of Rangel pleads not guilty by John Ferrannini

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he suspect in the fatal stabbing of a gay social worker at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center’s famed HIV/AIDS ward last month finally appeared in court and entered a not guilty plea last week. Wilfredo Tortolero Arriechi, 34, of San Francisco, was charged with homicide by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins following the December 6 death of UCSF social worker Alberto Rangel, 51. Arriechi allegedly stabbed Rangel on December 4 at Ward 86, according to prosecutors. However, Tortolero Arriechi did not appear in court until January 7, when he entered his plea, according to both the district attorney’s and the public defender’s offices, the latter of which is representing him. Tortolero Arriechi’s next court date is January 27, when he is scheduled to ap-

From Rangel’s website

Social worker Alberto Rangel was admired by colleagues and patients.

pear in Department 20 at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street, at which time a

date will be set for a preliminary hearing, according to both the district attorney’s and the public defender’s offices. Tortolero Arriechi was unable to appear earlier because he was in a psychiatric ward at SFGH, according to the public defender’s office. “He was in the locked psychiatric ward at SF General for almost a month after his arrest and before he was discharged and taken to county jail at the end of December,” public defender’s spokesperson Valerie Ibarra stated in an email to the Bay Area Reporter. Deputy Public Defender Sylvia Nguyen, who is representing Tortolero Arriechi, stated that “he was suffering a mental health crisis that day,” referring to the day of the alleged incident. Rangel was a trained therapist who worked with victims of trauma, depression, and anxiety, specializing in treating LGBTQ and other minority groups, according to his website.

He also assisted clients from Latin America, Mongolia, and Eritrea with asylum applications to the United States. A GoFundMe page set up for him describes him as “a beloved spouse, brother, social worker, friend and human.” The fundraising page has raised almost $129,000 of a $150,000 goal as of January 13. Stuart Moulder, Rangel’s husband, told the B.A.R. he did not want to comment on the legal proceedings. As the B.A.R. previously reported, a male patient of Ward 86 was at the hospital for a scheduled appointment, when, at 1:30 p.m. December 4, additional security was called after a doctor received threats. “While providing security for the doctor, our sheriff’s deputy heard a disturbance unfolding in the hallway involving the suspect, who was attacking a social worker,” a news release from the San Francisco Sheriff’s office stated. “The

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deputy intervened immediately, restraining the suspect and securing the scene.” San Francisco police issued a subsequent news release identifying the suspect. Tortolero Arriechi was booked into San Francisco County Jail for attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, mayhem, and being armed during the commission of a felony, according to police. On December 6, police announced that “despite the lifesaving efforts of medical staff, the victim was declared deceased at the hospital.” The police department’s homicide detail took over the investigation from there and, on December 8, Jenkins announced an added homicide charge. The incident also came after the San Francisco Standard reported in October about widespread safety concerns at SFGH. There was no weapons detection system in place at the outpatient clinics at the hospital, the outlet reported. t

San Francisco to hold MLK Day march compiled by Cynthia Laird

campaign, which will run through the Supreme Court’s decision, expected later this year. The campaign was developed based on research RALLY conducted last October among Democrats and independents. It found positive, values-based messaging frames about trans youth participation in school sports far outperformed those focused on politicians, the release stated.

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he San Francisco Interfaith Council and other organizations will hold their annual march to commemorate the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday, January 19, which is the federal holiday observing his birth. Thousands of people are expected to honor the Selma to Montgomery marches and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The march begins at 11 a.m. outside San Francisco’s Caltrain Station at Fourth and Townsend streets and continues to Yerba Buena Gardens at 750 Howard Street. The event is free and open to all, organizers noted. People can bring banners highlighting their congregations or organizations. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais, which could lead to a drop in Black representation in Congress. Republicans believe a win in the case would allow them to redraw congressional maps in a way that would decrease Black- and Hispanic-majority districts. It is unclear whether the court will rule in time for a decision to affect the November midterm elections. At the San Francisco march, participants will join together in unity, echoing the spirit of solidarity that defined the civil rights movement, organizers noted. As the march progresses, it becomes a living tribute to King’s unwavering dedication to justice and equality. At Yerba Buena Gardens, there will be an interfaith commemoration in partnership with the council. King, the civil rights leader, was born January 15, 1929. He was assassinated April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. For more information about the march, visit https://tinyurl. com/5n6dcy74.

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Hormel home

From page 1

He made international headlines in 1997 when then-President Bill Clinton nominated Hormel to be the country’s ambassador to Luxembourg, and thus, the first out LGBTQ person to serve in such a role. It sparked immediate opposition from Senate Republicans and

From NorCal Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Community Foundation

People participated during last year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative march in San Francisco.

Lambda Legal unveils trans public education campaign

Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund has unveiled a new public education campaign on trans youth participation in sports. The program, aimed at fostering support in the court of public opinion, according to a news release, comes as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments January 13 in a pair of cases involving trans athletes. Lambda Legal represents Becky Pepper-Jackson, a West Virginia trans teen who is challenging that state’s ban on trans athletes in West Virginia v. BPJ, one of the cases heard this week. The first piece of Lambda Legal’s multifaceted effort is the Trans Youth in Sports Conversation Guide, which is designed to help people navigate discussions on the topic with empathy, clarity, and confidence, the release noted. It offers thoughtful quesconservative Christians, prompting Clinton to use his recess appointment powers to install Hormel into the diplomatic position in 1999. Hormel would serve as ambassador to the small European country until 2001. He died of natural causes at the age of 88 in the summer of 2021, as the B.A.R. reported at the time. When Hormel lived in the six-

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tions, human stories, and select data points that can help forge greater understanding when chatting on the sidelines of a game or catching up at a social setting, the release stated. “Many Americans hear a regular drumbeat of loud hateful rhetoric – often from zealots who reject trans peoples’ right to exist – spouting falsehoods and sowing fear,” stated Kevin Jennings, a gay man who is Lambda Legal’s CEO and formally worked in the U.S. Department of Education in the Obama administration. “As an antidote, Lambda Legal is offering new tools to help lower the temperature, foster curiosity and understanding, and promote constructive neighbor-toneighbor conversations.” The release stated that Lambda Legal is partnering with RALLY, a leading advocacy communications firm, on the bedroom, five-bathroom mansion, it sported a pink paint job. He sold it in 2012 for $7.2 million to tech executive Robert Mee and his wife, who repainted the four-story, nearly 9,300 square foot single-family residence in a white coat. When the couple sought city approvals to renovate the property and add a roughly 325 square foot addition in 2013, a city planning report noted it was deemed to be an historical resource eligible for inclusion on the California Register of Historic Resources partly due to Hormel’s having resided at the property and for its original owners. “The residential dwelling was constructed in circa 1898 by George de Urioste. The family lived in 181 Buena Vista Avenue for 85 years. During this time, the family made significant contributions to local history as a pioneering San Francisco family, actively involved in local politics, business, the development of the Park Hill Tract and philanthropic

Courtesy CA Academy of Sciences

A public memorial will be held for Claude, the albino alligator.

Public memorial for Claude the alligator

The California Academy of Sciences will hold a free public memorial for Claude, the beloved albino alligator, Sunday, January 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Golden Gate Park Bandshell. Claude died December 2 of liver cancer. He was 30 and had been at the Academy of Sciences for 17 years, officials noted. Officials stated in a news release that the program will be joyful and reflective. It will include stories shared by Claude’s Steinhart Aquarium care team, a youth poetry reading from 826 Valencia, and remarks from local leaders, including Assemblymember Catherine Stefanie (D-San Francisco) and District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar.

endeavors,” noted the report. It also detailed Hormel’s achievements during his lifetime and while he owned the property. “Hormel was an important figure in the gay rights movement in San Francisco in the late 20th century and his association with the property is exceptionally significant such that the period of significance for the property should extend to 2012, when he sold the property,” noted the report. “Both the de Urioste Family and James C. Hormel made significant contributions at the local, regional, and national levels while residing at 181 Buena Vista Avenue East. As such, the subject property is eligible under Criterion 2 from the time of construction of the property in 1899 when Hormel sold the property in 2012.” The local landmark designation provides some protection to the facade of a property, which is to be preserved into perpetuity. It also triggers greater scru-

San Francisco drag laureate Per Sia, a Latina trans drag performer, will join queer librarian Mychal Threets, host of PBS’ “Reading Rainbow,” for storytime readings of books written about Claude. The San Francisco Public Library will be giving out special edition Claude library cards, the release stated. Academy officials noted the public’s appreciation of Claude. “Claude was such a special animal, and not just because of his albinism,” stated Bart Shepherd, senior director of Steinhart Aquarium. “He had this ability about him that captivated almost everyone who saw him. I can’t tell you how many times on my frequent walks past his habitat that I overheard guests exclaim with delight, ‘He moved!’ Claude touched people’s lives and connected so many people across space and time with curiosity, with science and nature, and with each other.” In a nod to Claude’s roots in Louisiana, where he was hatched in 1995, the band MJ’s Brass Boppers will lead a vibrant New Orleans-style second line processional around the Music Concourse, encouraging fans to join in, the release noted. A Claude costume contest, with categories for children, adults, groups, and pets, will give fans the opportunity to showcase their creativity while competing for prizes, including a yearlong Academy family membership, limited edition Claude merchandise, and more. In addition to the public memorial, there will be additional activities inside the Academy of Sciences from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. An active membership or ticket is required. For more information, visit calacademy.org. t

tiny by the city’s planning department and commission of any redevelopment plans for landmarked sites. “This doesn’t provide absolute protection, it is still possible one or more of these buildings could be demolished,” noted Mandelman. “What it does do is it allows for more levels of review before that happens.” City leaders do not need the permission of property owners in order to landmark their buildings. While photographing the Hormel house Tuesday morning, the B.A.R. ran into Mee as he excited his home. He declined to comment for this article but did say he had been unaware of Mandelman’s move to landmark his property until being told so by the B.A.R. The request from Mandelman to begin the landmarking process for the Hormel mansion and other properties will first be See page 8 >>

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<< Community News

4 • Bay Area Repor ter • January 15-21, 2026

Sacto gay man dies following brutal attack by John Ferrannini

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he victim of a severe beating in Sacramento’s queer Lavender Heights neighborhood was laid to rest January 10 as the community grapples with what to do next. Prosecutors are evaluating whether to upgrade charges against the suspect to include homicide. Gay Sacramentan Alvin Prasad, 58, died of his injuries at an area hospital December 28. Prasad had been attacked early November 1 outside the Badlands Sacramento LGBTQ nightclub in Lavender Heights, anchored at 20th and K streets, just east of the California State Capitol. In the intervening weeks, Prasad was in a coma and on life support. He never regained consciousness. His daughter, Andrea Prasad, who was with him at the time he was attacked – reportedly after his Halloween outfit was insulted – had told the Bay Area Reporter on December 10 that “he is never getting better,” and that his doctor “confirmed that he will forever be a vegetable” if he had stayed alive. Andrea Prasad, a straight ally, told the B.A.R. January 9 that she’s “heartbroken.” “It’s like a piece of my heart is missing,” Andrea Prasad stated. “I feel like my dad’s passing would be less traumatizing if it was a natural death. I’ve had to accept that my life will never be the same, that my life now revolves around getting justice for my dad and supporting the LGBTQ+ community more than I already was.” A GoFundMe set up for Prasad has raised over $18,000 of a $20,000 goal. It is still accepting donations. The suspect in the case is Sean Wesley Payton Jr., 24. Payton was initially charged by Sacramento District Attorney Thien Ho with felony assault and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest to which he has pleaded not guilty. He was subsequently charged with an added hate crime enhancement, and his next court hearing is a bail review and settlement conference January 30 at 8:30 a.m. in

From GoFundMe

Alvin Prasad, who was attacked outside a Sacramento LGBTQ bar in early November, has died from his injuries.

Department 61 of Sacramento Superior Court at 651 I Street in Sacramento. Payton remains in custody. Reached for comment January 13, a spokesperson for Ho stated, “The Sacramento County District Attorney’s office takes every hate crime seriously, including those targeting members of our LGBTQ+ community. Prior to Alvin Prasad’s tragic passing, our office filed felony assault charges, along with a hate crime allegation, a great bodily injury allegation, and a charge of resisting arrest. With Mr. Prasad’s passing, our office is evaluating the filing of homicide charges.” Andrea Prasad told the B.A.R. that she hasn’t returned to Lavender Heights since the attack. “I’m scared to go back, honestly,” she stated.

Town hall held

The attack was only the most recent in a string of violent, troubling incidents, which led the Sacramento LGBT Community Center to hold a town hall December 16. Neil Anthony, a gay Sacramento man who helped put together a November 22 candlelight vigil for the late Prasad, told

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the B.A.R. that he was friends with the victim. Anthony told the B.A.R. in a January 12 phone interview that there were 40-50 people at the town hall, as well as a lot of frustration expressed by himself and other members of the public toward both Sacramento police and at the LGBT center. Anthony said at the meeting that he expressed disappointment with the LGBT center and police that “six weeks after Alvin was attacked, you still have nothing for us to feel safer than when we walked in the door.” He continued that when he himself had been the victim of a crime a year and a half earlier, the center did not have resources for him. He said things would be different if a similar incident occurred in San Francisco’s LGBTQ neighborhood. “If this had happened in the Castro, there would have been a town hall meeting the next night,” Anthony said he said at the meeting. “There would have been posters the next day.” Anthony said that he challenged the community stakeholders represented at the meeting – which included the center, the police, Sacramento District 4 City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum, a straight ally, and the Midtown Association – to spend a few hundred dollars and print a public safety flyer. Pluckebaum stepped up to the plate, Anthony said, and the next day several hundred tripartite flyers including law enforcement resources and explaining the city’s Safe Place Program were dropped off at the center for distribution. The Safe Place Program was established in 2015 to support the victims of hate crimes and student bullying. Participating businesses are required to educate employees and staff on how to respond to hate and bias crimes, and student bullying, and allow victims to stay on the business premises until police are able to arrive. Anthony said he intends to go doorto-door to neighborhood businesses with the flyers, and that he appreciated Pluckebaum’s allyship with the community. Pluckebaum confirmed Anthony’s account, telling the B.A.R. in a January 13 phone interview that, “For the most achievable show of good faith, he [Anthony] asked, ‘Can you do something? Can you show up with flyers?’ Kind of a low bar, but we met his test.” Pluckebaum explained that the flyers explain the Safe Place Program. “If someone comes in to one of those businesses, the staff will be trained if

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SF sheriff

From page 1

“We look forward to your response and to the concrete actions needed to protect the dignity, safety, and human rights of the women in San Francisco’s jails,” it concludes. Among the other organizations who signed onto the letter are the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club and the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights. They did not return requests to comment for this report by press time.

Sheriff’s response

Miyamoto wrote back December 19, stating that multiple city agencies toured County Jail 2 on December 8, and talked with women and trans people there. “During the visit, we had an un-

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someone’s been victimized,” he said. “Fortunately, it doesn’t happen all that often – but when it does, it’s alarming, not just for the people who’ve been victimized but for the staff to respond.” Anthony said David Heitstuman, a gay man who is the center’s executive director, personally apologized to him for the lack of resources after the meeting, and said it “shouldn’t have happened” that way. Reached for comment, a Sacramento police spokesperson stated, “As it relates to the tragic Prasad case, the suspect in this case was arrested by our officers. A thorough and thoughtful investigation was completed and has since been forwarded to the Sacramento County DA’s Office. We have designated LGBTQ liaison officers that work directly with the community. We are also very thorough in reporting, tracking, and documenting bias related incidents throughout the City of Sacramento.” The spokesperson also forwarded an item in OutWord magazine, a Sacramento LGBTQ publication, publicizing that the department has LGBTQ liaison officers. The B.A.R. reached out to the center regarding Anthony’s account of events, but did not hear back by press time. Asked to provide a statement about the December 16 town hall, a center spokesperson stated, “The Sacramento LGBT Community Center is, and has always been, a safe and affirming space for our community. We are deeply disheartened by this attack and loss of life, and moments like this underscore why we encourage community members to report incidents through our tool so we can identify patterns and better understand what’s happening. That information helps us work with local law enforcement and partners on safety strategies that truly reflect community needs.” The spokesperson also directed those experiencing hate or bias crimes to a form available on the center’s website, at saccenter.org, which offers confidential and anonymous reporting of incidents in the area. Anthony said that Pluckebaum’s office proposed a memorial bench in Prasad’s memory. While he didn’t think that would be the best way to honor Prasad, he appreciated the sentiment, and said in the coming months some kind of memorial to Prasad will be proposed. Asked about the potential for a memorial, Pluckebaum said, “We’ll see.” “I want to be respectful of what his [the Prasad] family wants,” he said. “I don’t

think it’ll be a bench. I think it’ll be a mural or something like that.” Anthony also said the decision whether to restart a citizen patrol group called the Lavender Angels, which lapsed a dozen years ago, has been put off until spring. According to the Sacramento LGBTQ+ Historic Experience Project, the first iteration of the Lavender Angels started in 1991 after the killing of 24-yearold Vincent Blades, who had recently moved to Sacramento from Reno, Nevada. Blades “was stabbed and killed by two men who had been shouting gay epithets at him in a parking lot near the Faces bar at 20th and K streets,” according to the project report. “The goal of the Lavender Angels was to serve as the eyes and ears of the police and to report hate crimes and violence toward the LGBTQ community,” the report continued. “Volunteers wore white T-shirts with ‘Lavender Angels’ printed on them in neon pink and patrolled the epicenter of Lavender Heights between 19th and 20th streets and Capitol Avenue and K Street on Friday and Saturday nights. The program was supported by the local police department and set up a hotline for people to anonymously report such crimes directly to the police.” A second iteration lasted around a year, from 2012-13. Pluckebaum affirmed, “There’s debate about whether they want to revive the Lavender Angels brand, or have a different one.” Pluckebaum planned to adjourn the January 13 Sacramento City Council meeting in Prasad’s memory. According to his prepared remarks shared with the B.A.R. Tuesday ahead of the meeting, the councilmember plans to note that Prasad “was just about to celebrate his retirement and counting down the days from Sacramento County as a human services specialist for the past 20 years. He was a proud gay man enjoying an evening with his daughter and a friend on Halloween night at Badlands when hate struck and turned his family and friends’ lives.” Pluckebaum continued that when he attended Prasad’s memorial, he was reminded of the gay slain San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk’s commitment to hope. “Therefore, I have hope that this senseless tragedy brings light into darkness and that his family and friends are comforted by their loving memories and that our community can heal because I have hope that we are better than this,” Pluckebaum said.t

planned candid conversation with some incarcerated women participating in the SISTERS program who had just completed their morning Programming,” Miyamoto wrote. (The SISTERS program “addresses multiple needs with a particular focus on treatment and support for substance use disorders,” the letter clarifies.) Miyamoto stated that the sheriff’s office is awaiting recommendations moving forward from some of the participating organizations, which include the Department on the Status of Women, the Human Rights Commission, and the Department of Police Accountability (DPA). The agencies are led by gay men – Mawuli Tugbenyoh leads the newlyjoined commission and Department on the Status of Women, and Paul Henderson leads the DPA. Neither agency returned a request for comment as to

their timeframe for making recommendations to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff also addressed the allegations of the strip search. “With respect to the allegations of a search conducted on May 22, 2025, a supplemental investigation will be carried out by an independent entity, the DPA. This request was initiated by our office on December 1, 2025, and formally accepted by DPA on December 10, 2025,” Miyamoto wrote. “While this matter falls outside the DPA’s scope of the LOA (Letter of Agreement) and is not normally within its purview, the supplemental investigation, conducted following our administrative review and corrective actions, will ensure that an independent body fully reviews all aspects of the events of May 22, 2025.

tional Airport. He has long been active in the leather community of San Francisco and volunteered with the former AIDS Emergency Fund. For some years, he headed AEF’s Board of Directors during the 1990s. Art founded the LeatherWalk, a march that used to go from Castro Street via several leather bars that ended with a celebratory event at the SF Eagle. The march, which launches Leather Week the Sunday before the Folsom Street Fair, had raised thousands of dollars for the AEF and successor agencies. (It is now pro-

duced by the San Francisco Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District.) Art also competed in the Mr. SF Leather contest and was featured as Mr. December and on a cover of a Bare Chest Calendar. Known for his goodhearted nature and hilarious wit, his memory is cherished by his spouse of many years, David Bell.

See page 8 >>

Obituaries >> Art Tomaszewski June 16, 1949 – December 20, 2025

Art peacefully succumbed at home in San Francisco after many years battling the complications of Parkinson’s disease. Art earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University. He worked as a flight attendant for American Airlines beginning in the mid-1980s, based out of San Francisco Interna-

[Editor’s note: Due to a production error, an incorrect photo was published in the January 8, 2026 print edition.]

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<< Open Forum

6 • Bay Area Repor ter • January 15-21, 2026

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HeadlineICE Abolish

I

t’s time for President Donald Trump to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Customs and Border Protection agents should be retrained and their duties should be more closely monitored. Immigration agents have shown throughout the president’s second stint in the White House that they know no bounds. They flagrantly choose not to follow well-established best practices in policing, routinely deny U.S. citizens their constitutional rights, and employ dangerous actions that place people at risk. In fact, the New York Times reported this week that immigration agents have fired on vehicles on at least 10 occasions. One of those, on January 7 in Minneapolis, resulted in the death of Renee Nicole Good, an LGBTQ woman who was trying to leave the scene of an ICE action, according to video made public, before she was shot in the face. Confrontations involving vehicles are dangerous, but federal immigration agents seem to deliberately create those situations. In Good’s case, the agent, identified as Jonathan Ross, positioned himself in front of the vehicle, which agents should be trained never to do, according to policing experts. Large protests took place across the country last weekend, including San Francisco and Oakland, as people loudly registered their anger that a 37-year-old mom was fatally shot in her vehicle. It shouldn’t have happened. And neither should all the other actions by federal immigration agents that have left people injured, dead, or otherwise denied their rights. The Department of Homeland Security is, to put it bluntly, out of control. And while the nation awaits more answers in the Good case, the Department of Homeland Security must take immediate action to rein in its troops. And that’s what they are: paramilitary agents in an authoritarian country who are terrorizing people in the U.S., with deadly consequences in some cases. Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have done nothing but vilify Good. They

claim she was a “domestic terrorist.” Trump has said she was a “professional agitator,” and suggested that being “disrespectful” toward law enforcement justifies the deadly use of force, as the New Republic reported. As for Noem, she was unqualified to run DHS when she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate last year. Since taking over the department, she has done nothing to suggest otherwise. Now, Noem is doubling down, telling reporters that more federal immigration agents will be sent to Minneapolis. That’s exactly what’s not needed. Furthermore, Noem maintains that Ross was acting in self-defense in shooting Good, which isn’t corroborated by videos released so far. Noem’s leadership has been so reckless, and so many legal issues have arisen, that she should be impeached. Several Democratic lawmakers have called for just that, including Congressmember Emily Randall (D-Washington), a queer Latina woman. In her newsletter to constituents two days after Good’s killing, Randall stated that she is co-sponsoring articles of impeachment against Noem. “While impeachment faces long odds in a Republican-controlled House, I will not stand by while unlawful actions go unchecked,” Randall stated. “Accountability is not optional, and I hope my Republican colleagues can put party aside and join us in holding a Department of Homeland Security secretary who is clearly unfit to serve accountable.” The Congressional Equality Caucus, of which Randall is a co-chair, is calling for a thorough investigation. “Renee Nicole Good was a wife, mother, poet, singer, member of the LGBTQI+ community, and United States citizen,” stated caucus Chair Mark Takano (D-California), a gay man, alongside the 11 co-chairs. “Her tragic killing will forever be a stain on the moral fabric of our nation. We solemnly join Renee’s friends, loved ones – including her wife and young children – and community in Minnesota in mourning this heartbreaking loss. “We must demand accountability from the Trump administration and fight for justice for Re-

t

nee. Federal authorities must allow a full, transparent, and independent investigation that involves state and local law enforcement agencies in order for justice to be served and to ensure these senseless acts of violence never happen ever again.” That investigation, however, is off to a dubious start. The Washington Post reports that Department of Justice experts on police shootings from its civil rights division have been left out. This is an indication of how the administration is not treating the incident seriously. Trump should order Noem to reverse course on that, but we’re not holding our breath. The echo chamber around Trump and his sycophants is too great. This week, Congressmember John Garamendi (D-California) joined Democratic Congressmembers Ilhan Omar (Minnesota), Pramila Jayapal (Washington), Jamie Raskin (Maryland), Bennie G. Thompson (Mississippi), and 155 other lawmakers in demanding transparency and accountability from Noem and ICE acting Director Todd Lyons following Good’s shooting. In their letter, the lawmakers demand an immediate suspension of the current surge of federal officers and agents to Minneapolis and an investigation by an independent agency. Other Golden State representatives, such as Democratic Congressmembers Nancy Pelosi (San Francisco), Zoe Lofgren (San Jose), Eric Swalwell (Dublin), and Kevin Mullin (San Francisco/San Mateo) also signed the letter. Predictably, the reaction from Republican lawmakers has been muted, though U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) told the Associated Press that the videos she’s seen are “deeply disappointing.” They’re far more than that. Now is the time for GOP legislators in the House and Senate to stand up and demand action. This is an issue that could – and should – galvanize Democratic voters in the midterm elections. Should the party take back the House, it would open the door to numerous investigations of administration officials, as well as fiscal oversight since Congress controls funding. Federal immigration agents shoot first, even when there is no reasonable explanation for doing so. It’s past time that they are held to account. t

Forced outing, free speech, and Headline the students caught in between by Ryan LaLonde

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s a gay man, a dad, a husband, and a school board president, I have watched with growing alarm as attacks on the rights of LGBTQ+ students have intensified in what many now call the Trump 2.0 era. Many of these efforts are winding their way through the courts, reframed as disputes over free speech or parental rights. Too often, what is missing from these legal arguments is the voice of the students themselves – and the very real harm that can result when adults misuse their power. I am particularly troubled by a recent federal court ruling in Mirabelli v. Olson, which suggests that California educators may have a constitutional right to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to parents without the student’s consent. Supporters celebrate this as a victory for freedom. I see it as part of a broader pattern in which courts are increasingly willing to protect the “freedoms” of some adults at the expense of the safety and dignity of young people. Fortunately – for now, as these developments seem to change by the week – the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a shortterm administrative stay of the ruling. Students have a right to feel safe at school. They have a right to feel respected. Those rights are not abstract to me – they are deeply personal. When I was in middle school, I endured a year of torment that left me questioning whether I wanted to live. The source of that pain was not another student. It was my U.S. history teacher. I dreaded fourth period. My teacher, the late Mr. Markle, went out of his way to misgender me, referring to me only as “she” and “her,” even after I corrected him. Brave friends spoke up, risking ridicule themselves to intervene. It didn’t matter. The behavior continued. Each time, I put my head down, listened to the laughter ripple through the classroom, and caught the smirk on my teacher’s face as he did it again. This was not confusion or a mistake. It was deliberate. And it was devastating. I left that class in tears more times than I can count, humiliated and feeling utterly alone. Even after conversations with school administrators, the behavior continued. The adult with the most power

Courtesy Ryan LaLonde

Ryan LaLonde, right, stood with his husband, Christopher Moody, left, and their son, Farber.

in the room was the one causing the harm. So, I ask this question now, in light of the recent court rulings: Was the teacher’s freedom to misgender me fair? Should it have been protected? Eventually, I was fortunate. I had parents I trusted enough to confide in. After I told my dad what was happening, he confronted my teacher one Wednesday night in a bowling alley parking lot in March. From that point on, Mr. Markle never used pronouns at all – only my name. But here is the part that matters most: I had parents (trusted adults) I could turn to for help. Not every student has that luxury. This could have easily created a situation where I had to out myself before I was ready or worse – death. Today’s legal push to allow or encourage teachers to disclose a student’s gender identity to parents without consent ignores this reality. It assumes that disclosure is neutral, or even helpful. It is not. For many students, forced outing can lead to rejection, punishment, abuse, or homelessness. Schools cannot predict which outcome a child will face – and courts should not pretend they can. Public schools have always balanced parental rights with student privacy. We do not report every sensitive conversation a student has with a counselor. We do not disclose personal information

when doing so could cause harm. Gender identity and sexual orientation should not be treated differently simply because they have become political flashpoints. What worries me most about the current legal trend is how narrowly freedom is being defined. Too often, it is framed solely as the freedom of adults to say or do what they wish – even when that speech or action targets a child with far less power. My middle school teacher had “free speech.” What I did not have was protection. Schools are not surveillance arms of the state, and educators are not informants. They are professionals entrusted with the care of young people during some of the most vulnerable years of their lives. When students share something deeply personal with a teacher, it is often because that teacher represents safety – sometimes the only safety they feel they have. Policies that force outing break that trust. They tell students that honesty is dangerous and that school is not a place where they can be themselves. That message does not strengthen families. It isolates children. As a society, we should be asking harder questions of our courts: Whose freedom is being protected – and at whose expense? I survived my experience because I eventually found support. Not every student does. When we talk about rights in the abstract, we risk forgetting the very real consequences for young people who are still figuring out who they are – and whether the world will accept them. California has long been a leader in creating school environments where students can learn without fear and families can engage without coercion. Policies that force outing undermine that legacy. They risk real harm in the name of ideology and litigation strategy. Students deserve schools that are safe, humane, and grounded in dignity. We should not sacrifice those values in the name of legal theory or politics. We already know where that path leads—and too many children have paid the price. t Ryan LaLonde, a gay man, is president of the Alameda Unified School District Board of Education.

t

Politics >>

January 15-21, 2026 • Bay Area Repor ter • 7

SF House race forum highlights HIV issues by Matthew S. Bajko

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rom her first speech on the floor of the U.S. House, Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has made HIV and AIDS a top priority during her tenure on Capitol Hill. Her departure next January due to her decision to retire from Congress rather than seek reelection this year will leave HIV advocates without one of their biggest backers at a time when President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers have targeted AIDS funding to be cut, both domestically and internationally. As such, where the trio of Democrats running to succeed Pelosi stand on HIV and AIDS issues took center stage during their first candidate forum held January 7 at UC Law. The Bay Area Reporter along with Mission Local co-moderated the two-hour event that featured several questions aimed at putting gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, and Saikat Chakrabarti, formerly chief of staff to Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), on the record when it comes to prioritizing the concerns of people living with HIV and AIDS. Wiener noted that he was the first elected official in the country to publicly disclose he was taking the HIV prevention medication known as PrEP and recalled his manning an AIDS hotline while a 20-year-old college student in North Carolina during the 1990s. The experience later factored into his advocacy, while serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, for ensuring the city backfilled any cuts in its federal allocations for HIV services and taking a lead role among his colleagues on helping craft the Getting to Zero policy aimed at ending local transmission of HIV. “That was my entry point into this community during another time of darkness, another time when the federal government had turned its back on us, and, frankly, was wishing for us to die faster, and we rallied as a community to survive. Not everyone survived, but we survived as a community in the face of that hostility. And that absolutely energized me since then to go to the mat for this community,” said Wiener, pledging to do the same on Capitol Hill. As the board’s budget chair, Chan noted she has continued to ensure HIV funding is a priority. She pledged to take that commitment with her to Washington, D.C. “We’re gonna make sure the appropriation bill and the spending bill, it’s going to be what our values are, and hold up that values, to say that LGBTQ communities matter. They are important to us. They are part of not just the fabric of San Francisco, but the entire country. And we’re gonna make sure the federal government and its funding say so,” said Chan. Chakrabarti recalled when he worked for Ocasio-Cortez, their office held hearings in 2019 looking into the actions of Gilead, a leading manufacturer of HIV medications, on the pricing of its PrEP medicine, Truvada. Democratic lawmakers used it to grill the company’s CEO over the high cost of the drug. “At the time PrEP was unaffordable because it was being controlled by Gilead’s monopoly. And the hearing that we did laid the groundwork and created pressure that eventually led to Gilead creating generic PrEP before they lost their patents,” said Chakrabarti, who pledged to hold a similar hearing over the company’s

Rick Gerharter

Congressional candidate state Senator Scott Wiener, center, spoke at a January 7 forum along with candidate Saikat Chakrabarti, left, and Supervisor Connie Chan.

pricing of its injectable form of PrEP. “And right now, we have a new drug, injectable PrEP, that if you just take a shot twice a year, you are 100% effective against HIV. It has a chance to completely wipe out HIV but it costs $28,000 a year.” Asked specifically about meeting the needs of seniors living with HIV, Chan noted that her late mother had worked with that population of older adults as an enrollment coordinator for the nonprofit On Lok. They would discuss how to care for their specific health care needs, said Chan. “And this is what I learned, and this is what I also learned as your budget chair, is that when we’re in D.C., I’m gonna go back to, say, Medicaid, Medicaid, Medicaid,” said Chan. “Medicaid, right now, has this great reimbursement called continuum of care and we have to expand that, and that is a different category for seniors who live with AIDS and HIV, for when they can live independently, or when they actually need in-home care service, and that they need to have some workers to go to their home to care for them. We need to expand and increase that care and that reimbursement.” Zeroing in on ensuring seniors living with HIV do not become homeless, Chakrabarti called for creating a dedicated source of federal funding for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program, known as HOPWA. He likened it to the country’s Reconstruction Finance Corporation used during the Great Depression to loan out funds for housing and other needs. “At the end of the day, we need permanent systemic solutions for these problems. And that’s not going to happen under the current status quo that we have,” he said. “We have to have a movement that takes power, that is talking about these larger ideas. How do you get these structural fixes so we’re not just fighting for money every two years?” Pointing to the work he has done at the local and state level on HIV matters, Wiener pledged to continue that focus in Congress. He would use the Getting to Zero plan, with its calls for testing people for HIV and ensuring they have access to care, as guidance. “So many of our HIV-positive population is over the age of 50, and it is our responsibility, we have an absolute sacred obligation to ensure that our HIV-positive neighbors who are aging can do so with dignity,” he said. “And so, the federal government has been pulling back on every form of HIV funding for a long time under both Democrats and Republicans, and that is unconscionable. It will be a high priority for me to make sure that these programs are funded and expanded, and then we stop the contraction.”

The trio was also asked about ensuring immigrants living with HIV can access the health care they require amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. It has deployed federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to round up immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally at their homes, worksites, court appointments, and their children’s schools, prompting fierce backlash among the public that resulted in an ICE officer killing a lesbian mother last week in Minneapolis. Wiener called for abolishing the agency in his response to the question. He also called for “an absolute ban” on ICE officers being allowed access to health care facilities. “We don’t need ICE in our hospitals, in our health clinics, to scare people so they don’t seek care,” said Wiener, adding the immigrants need to be allowed access to Medicaid so they can receive the health care they need. “In California, we changed our laws so Medi-Cal would be funded purely with state tax dollars to expand Medi-Cal to all residents of California, with or without documents, millions of, a large number of undocumented Californians receive Medi-Cal right now,” noted Wiener, adding that Congress needs “to change federal law to make sure that includes HIV care, it includes all the benefits of being a resident in this country should entitle you to.” Chan pointed to San Francisco being a sanctuary city that embraces its immigrant population. By doing so, it also takes into account their health care needs, added Chan. “And when we’re in federal government, and when we’re in Washington, D.C., when we’re there, we’re gonna make sure that not only that we have firm sanctuary city status across the nation, we need to figure ways by amending laws and changing appropriation bills to expand sanctuary status, and that will allow immigrants that have health conditions, including HIV, being able to receive care in those cities,” she said. Also referring to the city’s sanctuary city status, Chakrabarti agreed with Wiener and Chan on needing to ensure immigrants are not blocked from accessing publicly funded health care services. “That started right here in the city, and the sanctuary city policy is very clear. There should be no coordination with ICE in these health care facilities, not just that ICE can’t come to the hospital, but there should be no data sharing, there should be no coordination whatsoever, of any kind, there should be no coordination between local law enforcement and ICE,” he said. “Because we got to be clear, ICE right now is Trump’s paramilitary force. It’s got the same bud-

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8 • Bay Area Repor ter • January 15-21, 2026

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from female athletic competitions. Hecox’s litigation succeeded at the lower court levels, so the state of Idaho, joined by the anti-LGBTQ organization Alliance Defending Freedom, brought an appeal, Little (Idaho) v. Hecox, to the Supreme Court. But Hecox’s attorneys from the ACLU said they wished to withdraw the underlying litigation “with prejudice,” meaning “there is no possibility that the controversy might reemerge.” The Supreme Court disagreed and determined that it would accept Idaho’s appeal. Locally, the Bay Area group Rainbow Families Action issued a statement after the arguments. “Rainbow Families Action has been fighting since our inception to preserve the ability of trans kids to play as full, equal participants on the sports teams that align with their gender,” the organization stated. The group pointed out that only a small number of trans athletes go on to get a college scholarship or compete at an elite level. “Exclusionary laws harm the tens of thousands of trans kids and the millions of cis kids who love sports and want to play free from fear, harassment, and invasions of their privacy,” the group stated. The ACLU stated that the Supreme Court could deliver a ruling that goes beyond sports and implicates the rights of transgender people in other arenas. t

at 740 Castro Street; the John J. Clark House at 210 Douglass Street; the Kirby House at 560 Noe Street; and the P.F. Ferguson House at 2 Vicksburg Street. Also on the list are the Alexander Adams Home at 1450 Masonic Avenue; the Elliott M. Wilson Home at 1335 Guerrero Street; the Lange House at 199 Carl Street; the Charles Katz Home at 1200 Dolores Street; the Shaughnessy House at 394 Fair Oaks Street; the Guerrero Street Double Stick Eastlake House at 1415-1417 Guerrero Street; the Buena Vista Farmhouse at 11 Piedmont Street; the Henry Street Rowhouses at 191-197 Henry Street; and the Born Home at 99 Divisadero Street. Several properties turned into private homes are on the list. They include the Phoenix Brewery Building at 552 Noe Street; Firehouse No. 44 at 3816 22nd Street; and the Second Christian Science Church at 651-655 Dolores Street now known as the Light House luxury townhome across from Mission Dolores Park. Mandelman also wants to landmark the Mission Dolores Academy school building at 3371 16th Street. Also on the list are religious institutions St. Agnes Church at 601 Belvedere

Street, Noe Valley Ministry at 1021 Sanchez Street; Holy Innocents Church at 455 Fair Oaks Street; and Golden Gate Lutheran Church at 3689 19th Street. Mandelman told the B.A.R. this week he plans to bring forward additional local landmark and historic district requests in the coming months. His doing so was prompted by the recently passed Family Zoning Plan pushed by Lurie, and now the subject of litigation, and Mandelman’s concern that the new rules for residential developments could lead to the loss of historic structures. “We are pushing planning on this because I do think there could be increased housing development coming about because of the Family Zoning Plan, which I think is good on the whole but should not be allowing, inadvertently, the demolition of landmarks,” said Mandelman. His initial batch of 16 properties across his district, from Cole Valley to the Mission, that he proposed be deemed city landmarks last fall will go before the Historic Preservation Commission next Wednesday, January 21, for review, as the B.A.R.’s Political Notebook column reported https://www.ebar.

com/story/161683/ earlier this month. Seven of those sites relate to LGBTQ history, such as the one-time residence at 4200 20th Street of the late gay B.A.R. founding publisher Bob Ross, who died in 2003 at age 69. Also under consideration for landmark status are the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s inaugural site at 514-20 Castro Street and the building at 582 Castro Street that once housed the Castro Rock Steam Baths from 1971 until 1977. The list also includes the locations of pioneering but now defunct lesbianowned businesses Maud’s bar at 929-41 Cole Street and the Full Moon Coffeehouse at 4416 18th Street. Mandelman told the B.A.R. this week that he has no reason to believe that the oversight body won’t support those landmark requests that also include the initial site of LGBTQ synagogue Sha’ar Zahav at 220 Danvers Street and the LGBTQ-friendly Most Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church’s buildings at 100-117 Diamond Street. “I think the work on those has been solid and I would be very surprised if they did not agree,” said Mandelman of the commission’s members. t

en in custody, many of whom face serious charges and are held pretrial for extended periods while awaiting case resolution. While the length of pretrial detention is beyond our control, we remain committed to providing safe conditions for women while in our custody and care.” Asked to comment on the response, Arroyo of the Young Women’s Freedom Center told the B.A.R. on a January 12 Zoom call that the sentiment of the letter is appreciated, but that she’s disappointed the demands of the December 16 letter were not met. “I deeply appreciate the acknowledgement, but there was acknowledgement without accountability,” Arroyo said. “The sheriff’s office admits harm occurred, but refuses to take real action.” Arroyo added, to local officials who have discussed the need for improved public safety in San Francisco, that, “This is about public safety, too.”

Previous lawsuit

the Sherriff’s [sic] Office (SHF), regarding women and the transgendered population housed in county jail facilities.” Ng stated January 9, “On behalf of the Office of the Clerk of the Board, we apologize for any misuse of the word ‘transgendered’ on the referenced December 23rd communication, which was transmitted during a period of minimal staffing and heavy year-end workload.” Ng clarified, “The intent and context was descriptive and administrative, not value-based,” and that, “We recognize that media style guides recommend ‘transgender’ without an ‘-ed’ as the preferred adjective for alignment with current linguistic norms. We appreciate the opportunity to clarify and will apply updated terminology in future communications, and conduct ongoing training with staff as linguistic norms evolve.”

Overcrowding allegation

contended Chakrabarti, in this year’s midterms with an eye toward 2028 when Democrats have a chance to recapture the White House and elect a president who will push for inclusive health care policies and “actually protect our immigrants, protect their health care.” The top two vote-getters in the June 2 primary race will advance to the November ballot and compete for

a two-year term through early 2029. Should Wiener be elected, he would be the first LGBTQ congressional member representing a Bay Area district, while Chan or Chakrabarti would be the first congressmember of Asian descent elected from San Francisco. Co-hosting the forum last week were the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, the Harvey Milk

LGBTQ Democratic Club, and the California Working Families Party. At its meeting Monday night, the Alice club early endorsed Wiener, a former co-chair of the more moderate of the city’s two LGBTQ Democratic political groups. Another moderate political group, the United Democratic Club, also early endorsed Wiener in the race.

Mandelman to seek Assembly seat

Joshua Roper/ACLU

Lindsay Hecox had her case heard before the U.S. Supreme Court January 13.

cannot be denied to them, because of who they are as trans people. “Today, we ask this court to be consistent,” Takano stated.

The cases

The two cases, discussed separately before the court, involved two transgender female athletes: Becky Pepper-Jackson, a teenager in West Virginia, and Lindsay Hecox, a college student in Idaho. PepperJackson, 15, started taking puberty blocking medications in elementary school and has never gone through the bodily changes that males go through during puberty. Thus, her attorneys argue, she does not have any biological advantage over cisgender females. Hecox, 24, began experiencing gender dysphoria in elementary school but did not begin to take drugs to suppress testosterone until her first year in college.

Hormel home

Other sites

Nearby the Hormel property, at 737 Buena Vista Avenue West, Mandelman is also seeking local landmark status for another mansion once owned by a prominent San Franciscan. The Floyd Spreckels Mansion, built in 1897 for sugar magnate Richard Spreckels, is an example of Classical Revival architecture.

SF sheriff

From page 4

All evidence, including written and video materials, will be preserved, stored, and handled with the utmost care and confidentiality throughout DPA’s review.” The report outlines existing health, counseling, and educational programs for women and trans people, including substance-use treatment, domestic violence support, parenting and education programs, wellness activities, as well as new initiatives. “Safety, particularly for women and transgender individuals, is a core mission and priority of our office in caring for those in our custody,” the sheriff’s letter states. As was highlighted by our city partners during the December 8 tour, addressing these needs would be significantly aided by additional space for wom-

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Joshua Block, senior counsel for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “School athletics are fundamentally educational programs, but West Virginia’s law completely excluded Becky from her school’s entire athletic program even when there is no connection to alleged concerns about fairness or safety. As the lower court recognized, forcing Becky to either give up sports or play on the boys’ team – in contradiction of who she is at school, at home, and across her life – is really no choice at all. We are glad to stand with her and her family to defend her rights, and the rights of every young person, to be included as a member of their school community, at the Supreme Court.” Pepper-Jackson said in a statement that she just wants to play sports. “I play for my school for the same reason other kids on my track team do – to make friends, have fun, and challenge myself through practice and teamwork,” stated Pepper-Jackson. “And all I’ve ever wanted was the same opportunities as my peers. But in 2021, politicians in my state passed a law banning me – the only transgender student athlete in the entire state – from playing as who I really am. This is unfair to me and every transgender kid who just wants the freedom to be themselves.” Hecox previously sought to have her case dismissed. She had formally notified the Supreme Court September 2 that she had voluntarily withdrawn her original lawsuit against the state of Idaho’s law banning transgender females

From page 2

taken up by the supervisor’s land use committee before being sent to the full board for a vote. Should it be approved as expected, then the landmark request for the sites will be sent to the city’s Historic Preservation Commission for review. The oversight body will have 90 days to make its decision to either support or recommend rejection of the landmark requests once sent the proposals. No matter what it decides, the landmarking requests will return to the supervisors for approval. Should the board do so, then it will be up to Mayor Daniel Lurie to finalize the properties becoming city landmarks and added to the list of local historic sites.

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The state of Idaho passed a blanket ban against trans female athletes in school just as she was preparing to try out for her school’s soccer and track and field teams. The three hours of arguments produced many memorable quotes. Idaho Solicitor General Alan Hurst told the court, “Sex is what matters in sports.” Later, the attorney arguing for Hecox noted that in 1967, the Supreme Court ruled in Boutilier v. U.S. that, although the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act was used to deport a Canadian gay man, the act did not mention homosexuality at all. The law said the U.S. could deport anyone “afflicted with psychopathic personality.” But the Supreme Court ruled that “Congress used the phrase ‘psychopathic personality’ not in the clinical sense, but to effectuate its purpose to exclude from entry all homosexuals and other sex perverts.” “Not our finest hour,” quipped Justice Neil Gorsuch. The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund brought the lawsuits challenging the bans. They said the bans, which exist in half the states, violate the Equal Protection Clause in the U.S. Constitution and Title IX under the federal Education Amendments of 1972. A lower court had ruled in favor of Pepper-Jackson, the ACLU noted. “This case is about the ability of transgender youth like Becky to participate in our schools and communities,” stated

Justices

From page 1

Two years later, Congress added an amendment introduced by the late Republican New York U.S. senator Jacob Javits that allowed for “reasonable provisions” in the context of “particular sports.” And in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held, in Bostock v. Clayton County, that “on the basis of sex” Title VII of the Civil Rights Act includes gender identity and sexual orientation. The ruling in the cases before the court Tuesday could have far-reaching consequences. Gay Congressmember Mark Takano (D-California), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, referenced the Bostock decision in remarks delivered outside the Supreme Court Tuesday. “This court, whose building that we stand before this morning, did something quite remarkable six years ago,” he stated, according to a transcript of his remarks. “It did the humanely decent thing, and legally correct thing. In the Bostock decision, the Supreme Court said that trans employees exist. It said that trans employees matter. It said that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects employees from discrimination based on sex, and that discrimination based on sex includes discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. It recognizes that trans people have workplace rights and that their livelihoods

Political Notebook

From page 7

get as the military of Canada, right? This is not an immigration enforcement agency. This is a gift apple.” Having Medicaid cover undocumented immigrants and moving to a health care for all system will require not supporting incumbents in Congress who back the status quo,

t

Rick Gerharter

Philanthropist and former U.S. Ambassador James C. Hormel sat at his desk in this 2011 photo.

Mandelman is seeking to landmark a number of private residences. They include the Fernando Nelson House at 701 Castro Avenue; the Power House at 1526 Masonic Avenue; the Duboce Triangle Greek Revival Home at 2173 15th Street; the Tietz-Beneke House at 657 Chenery Street; the Poole-Bell House at 192 Laidley Street; the Hinkel House

The sheriff’s office has been sued in the past over strip searches. In 1999, a federal jury awarded Victoria Schneider, a trans woman, $755,000 for a strip search she was subjected to in the San Francisco County jail in 1996 after she was arrested on a solicitation charge.

Apology for offensive term

Meanwhile, after being asked about its usage by the B.A.R., a city staffer has apologized for an offensive term used in an email sharing Miyamoto’s letter with the Board of Supervisors. Wilson L. Ng, the deputy director of operations for the Board of Supervisors, apologized for the use of the anachronistic and offensive term “transgendered” by John Bullock, an employee of the office of the board clerk, in sharing the December 19 letter with the supervisors on December 23. Bullock wrote, “Please see attached from

Speaking with the B.A.R. last month, gay District 8 supervisor candidate Michael Nguyen pointed to overcrowding at San Francisco County jails as a problem. The San Francisco Standard reported last March that the jails are often overcapacity. Depending on the day only about 1,200 beds were available, though the number of people in the jail sometimes exceeded 1,300, the report stated. “It feels dangerous,” Nguyen said of the jails. “At the same time, a lot of folks I talk to are really happy about the mayor’s focus on public safety, and street safety.” Asked to comment, a sheriff’s office spokesperson stated it now has 1,344 beds available. A spokesperson said there is not an issue of overcrowding at the jails and that 60 more beds will be brought online soon.t

Gay San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman is pivoting his plans to seek higher office from a state Senate seat to one in the Assembly, he confirmed to the B.A.R. Tuesday. Termed out of his District 8 seat on the board in See page 9 >>

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Community News>>

Political Notebook

From page 8

early January next year, Mandelman had announced his intention to seek the city’s Senate seat currently held by Wiener (D-San Francisco) once it became open. Should Wiener be elected in November to succeed Pelosi, his early departure from the Legislature would spark a special election in 2027 to serve out the remainder of his term

January 15-21, 2026 • Bay Area Repor ter • 9

through 2028. If he loses his House bid, then Wiener will be term-limited from seeking reelection to his legislative seat in 2028, with the race to succeed him on that year’s ballots. Now, with Pelosi’s daughter, Christine, and Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) both saying they will seek Wiener’s Senate seat when it becomes available, Mandelman will run to succeed Haney in his 17th District that covers the city’s eastern neighborhoods. He would do so next year should Haney be elected

to the Senate seat, triggering a special election for his Assembly seat, or in 2028 if Haney opts to run for it then rather than seek another term in his current chamber. (Haney is running this year for reelection to another two-year term.) Mandelman plans to pull paperwork to create a state Assembly campaign committee in the coming weeks. He will be able to transfer into it the funds he already has raised for his Senate account, which as of the last reporting period through the first

half of 2025 stood at $123,869. “I have been pretty clear that I have enormous respect both for Scott Wiener and Matt Haney, and Catherine Stefani for that matter,” said Mandelman, referring to the city’s other Democratic assemblymember who represents westside neighborhoods. “I think we have very strong people in our delegation. I have no desire, nor do I think San Francisco would be well served, by me running against any of them.” Also likely to seek Haney’s As-

sembly seat is Stephen Torres, a queer progressive who lost his 2024 bid for the city’s District 9 seat on the Board of Supervisors. Ever since, he has sent out an emailed newsletter weighing in on various matters, from policy fights at City Hall to local elections like the House race, in which he has endorsed Chan.t

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407960 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): THE NEW GARDEN CAMP, 333 BAKER ST #505, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a general partnership. Registrant/Owner(s): CHASON MAKSIM ALEXANDER IONOV & LILLY PEALL FERRIS. 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 12/09/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE 2022-0397255 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as EMERALD SPA, 441 STOCKTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by ALLAN NUTTALL. The fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/27/2022. The abandonment of fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/2025.. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407965 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PIETRONIGRO, 811 BURNETT AVE #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131-1560. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): FRANK PIETRONIGRO. 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 12/09/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408016 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): BLOC REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION, 2346 33RD AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): BATSHON REAL ESTATE COMPANY (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 12/16/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF GERARD VAN DIST IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: CASE NUMBER PES-25-308782 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the lost will or estate, or both, of GERARD VAN DIST AKA GERARD MARC GEORGES VAN DIST. A Petition for Probate has been filed by RONALD LAU & BRIAN KEENE in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that RONALD LAU & BRIAN KEENE be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s lost will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. 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: JANUARY 21, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 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: RONALD LAU & BRIAN KEENE, 4306 GEARY BLVD #301, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118; Ph. (415) 742-4522. JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560341 To all interested persons, the Petitioner ERNESTO JOSE MARQUEZ MARTINEZ & HANNILOR KELLY CORDOBA MONTIEL filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ADRIANA MELEK MARQUEZ CORDOBA to proposed name MELEK AYSUN MARQUEZ CORDOBA. 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: FEBRUARY 03, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 8298836 or email m.bajko@ebar.com.

Legals>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560335 To all interested persons, the Petitioner MATTHEW LAWRENCE SPRINGER filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name MATTHEW LAWRENCE SPRINGER AKA MATTHEW LAMBERT SPRINGER AKA MATTHEW L. SPRINGER AKA MATTHEW L SPRINGER AKA MATTHEW SPRINGER AKA MATT SPRINGER to proposed name MATTHEW LAWRENCE SPRINGER. 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: JANUARY 29, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560337 To all interested persons, the Petitioner DAVID SAMUEL WELCH AKA SAM JONES III filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name DAVID SAMUEL WELCH AKA SAM JONES III to proposed name SAM JONES III. 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: JANUARY 29, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560338 To all interested persons, the Petitioner CHARLENE ANN BALAGTAS LEODONES filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name CHARLENE ANN BALAGTAS LEODONES to proposed name JAMIE ANN BALAGTAS LEODONES. 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: JANUARY 29, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560318 To all interested persons, the Petitioner THU THI ANH TRAN & TINH VAN TRAN filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name DEKYI TRAN to proposed name DEKYI TENZIN TRAN. 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: JANUARY 20, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 AMENDED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560281 To all interested persons, the Petitioner CHARLTON RUDYARD MCINTASH filed an amended petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name CHARLTON RUDYARD MCINTASH to proposed name GUYLE XIOUXLEE CHEN. 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: JANUARY 22, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407836 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PAWPITOS PET SALON, 2264 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): LUIS BENITEZ. 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 11/17/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408024 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): MATCH AND MELT CRAFT BAR, 1808 MCALLISTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): MOHAMMAD FEREYDOUNI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/17/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/17/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408025 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CHINESE NEW YEAR PARADE MERCHANDISE; ARCADE & VENDING SERVICES; KNIGHT LIGHTS; KNIGHT LIGHTS ENTERTAINMENT; PHOTOBOX; 2295 17TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): CORBETT T. LEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/17/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/17/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407969 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): JS CLEANING SERVICES, 625 S 33RD ST, RICHMOND, CA 94804. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): JOSE ISAAC SORIANO RODRIGUEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/20/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/10/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407882 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): TOUCH TOUCH FLOWERS DESIGNS BY ALBERT, 419 19TH AVE #4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121-3149. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): ALBERT E. LOUIS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/24/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/24/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408014 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): MOMMY’S INDIAN GROCERY, 1138 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): CHAAT DINER SAN FRANCISCO INC (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 12/16/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408015 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CHAAT DINER, 1140 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): CHAAT DINER SAN FRANCISCO INC (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 12/16/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408011 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PHERO, 157 7TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): STYLIST ON STANDBY, INC. (DE). 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 12/16/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408013 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): FIREHORSE SALON, 659 HAIGHT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/ Owner(s): STEINER PIERCE LIMITED (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/18/2009. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408036 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PIER 70 TIME MACHINE, 1070 MARYLAND ST #2.35, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): POTRERO HILL ARCHIVES PROJECT (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/18/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 20250408046 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): BAYSHORE GAS & FOOD, 319 BAYSHORE BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): BAL STATIONS, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/12/2004. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/19/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407988 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): 3DGE MARKETING, 455 MARKET STE 1040 #846983, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): 3DGE MARKETING 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 12/11/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407980 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CEYORA HEALTH, 1020 MARIPOSA ST #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): FINESSE FORCE LLC (DE). 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 12/11/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE 2025-0407865 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as MOMMY’S INDIAN GROCERY, 1138 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by LALIT SAHA ESTATES LLC (CA). The fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/21/2025. The abandonment of fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE 2025-0405221 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as CHAAT DINER, 1140 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by LALIT SAHA ESTATES LLC (CA). The fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/20/2024. The abandonment of fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/2025. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE 2024-0404243 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as CITY LIGHTS PALACE, 706 SACRAMENTO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by ALLAN NUTTALL. The fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/22/2024. The abandonment of fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/2025.. DEC 25, 2025, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407899 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CANCUN #3, 3211 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): EL GRAN TACO LOCO, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/25/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/25/2025. JAN 01, 08, 15, 22, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407878 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): VICTORIA’S AUTO SERVICE, 770 POST ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a married couple. Registrant/Owner(s): FAUSTINO VALENZUELA & VICTORIA VALENZUELA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/11/2023. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/24/2025. JAN 01, 08, 15, 22, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407869 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): RT BISTRO, 205 OAK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/ Owner(s): ESJ RICH, 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 11/21/2025. JAN 01, 08, 15, 22, 2026 SUMMONS SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: KEYHAN MOHANNA, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS TRUSTEE OF THE KEYHAN MOHANNA REVOCABLE TRUST DATED JULY 8, 2003, YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: MITCHELL ZHANG, INDIVIDUALLY CASE NO. CGC-23-608770 NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web Site (www.lawhelpcalifornia. org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www. courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. The plaintiff without an attorney: MITCHELL ZHANG, INDIVIDUALLY, 1405 GREENWICH ST #4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109; (415) 827-7393. AUG 31, 2023, Clerk of the Court, Austin Lam, Deputy. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560343 To all interested persons, the Petitioner ROBERT JIE WEN TAN filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ROBERT JIE WEN TAN AKA KIT MAN TAM to proposed name ROBERT JIE WEN TAN. 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: FEBRUARY 03, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560346 To all interested persons, the Petitioner JING-WEN YU filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name JING-WEN YU to proposed name SABRINA JINGWEN YU. 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: FEBRUARY 05, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560349 To all interested persons, the Petitioner QUOC PHAM NGO filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name QUOC PHAM NGO to proposed name PHAM QUOC NGO. 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: FEBRUARY 10, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560352 To all interested persons, the Petitioner CHARLES EDWARD LOUIS TYBERG filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name CHARLES EDWARD LOUIS TYBERG to proposed name CHARLES EDWARD LOUIS WINTERS. 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: FEBRUARY 10, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560359 To all interested persons, the Petitioner JOSHUA ADAM ZATKIN-STERES filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name JOSHUA ADAM ZATKIN-STERES to proposed name JOSHUA ADAM SYZYGY. 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: FEBRUARY 17, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560355 To all interested persons, the Petitioner CAROLINE LINDA SWENSON filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name CAROLINE LINDA SWENSON to proposed name LOTUS CAROLINE SWENSON. 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: FEBRUARY 17, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560361 To all interested persons, the Petitioner JANIE JULIE SHUI filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name JANIE JULIE SHUI AKA JULIE JANIE SHUI to proposed name JULIE JANIE SHUI. 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: FEBRUARY 17, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560365 To all interested persons, the Petitioner MENG WEI KO filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name MENG WEI KO to proposed name CLAIRE MENG WEI KODALIN. 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: FEBRUARY 17, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560370 To all interested persons, the Petitioner JARRETT ELTON COGGIN filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name JARRETT ELTON COGGIN to proposed name JARRETT ELTON COGGIN PICKEL. 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: FEBRUARY 19, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407991 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): STUDIO PPAH, 611 40TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): LISA KEIKO HONDA. 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 12/12/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408009 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): BIG NOTE CREATIVE, 1942 LANE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/ Owner(s): DARRIN FOX. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/21/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/16/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408090 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ARTFUL ORGANIZING SF, 1890 BRYANT ST #209, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): ANDREA H. MAYNARD. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/30/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/30/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408105 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CPT, 323 GEARY ST #201, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): JEAN FRANCOIS DRAGEON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/31/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/31/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408103 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ELIZABETH ROCKS LLC, 88 HOWARD ST #700, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): ELIZABETH WARBURTON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/30/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408125 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ERIN SOLO HAIR, 3112 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): ERN NICOLE SOLOMON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/05/2026. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408115 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): INNER WORLD STUDIOS, 201 CORTLAND AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): LACEY PANZERO. 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 01/02/2026. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408074 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): GURUNIC, 505 MONTGOMERY ST, FL 11, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111-2585. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): JEONGHYUN KIM. 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 12/29/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408062 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PROSPERB MEDIA, 945 TARAVAL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a general partnership. Registrant/Owner(s): JOSEPHINE ZHAO & CHI H. CHAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/24/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/24/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408022 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): EMPOWERED SF PHYSICAL THERAPY, 2121 19TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): KRISTIN GOODRICH PHYSICAL THERAPY INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/28/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/17/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408063 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): SAN FRANCISCO INTEGRATIVE MASSAGE, 1844 MARKET ST #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): NEURO REFLEX THERAPY, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/25/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/24/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408072 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PRACTICAL COMPASSION PSYCHOTHERAPY, 2107 UNION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): PRACTICAL COMPASSION PSYCHOTHERAPY, A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/20/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/29/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

<< Classifieds

10 • Bay Area Repor ter • January 15-21, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408070 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): BUENA VISTA MOTOR INN, 1599 LOMBARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): GAJANAN INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/23/2013. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/26/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408126 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): COVERFLOW, 525 BRANNAN ST #404, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/ Owner(s): TRANSMUTEDOTCOM, INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/08/2024. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/06/2026. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408088 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): HEALTHY BUDDHA, 900 BUSH ST #420, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): AYUR HOLISTIC HEALTH INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/29/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/29/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408042 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): 19TH AVE ARCO, 1401 19TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): WALIA OPERATIONS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/15/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/19/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408112 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): APEX ELECTRIC & AIR, 418 RAMSELL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): IBS USA INC. (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 01/02/2026. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 20250407993 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): OMOI, 350 TOWNSEND ST #865, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): KIRAKIRA MEDIA INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/20/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/12/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407935 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): SCRUB SAVVY, 141 ADRIAN AVE, SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94080. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): SF HOUSE CLEANING SERVICES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/03/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/03/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

SUMMONS IN A CIVIL ACTION IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA. SCOTTSDALE INSURANCE COMPANY, an Ohio corporation, Plaintiff(s) v. REPAIRPAL, INC., a Delaware corporation, and AUBREY JACKSON SHELTON II, a California citizen, Defendant(s). CIVIL ACTION NO. 25-cv-05094-DMR To Defendant: AUBREY JACKSON SHELTON II, a California citizen, 2261 Market St #4705, San Francisco, CA 94114. A lawsuit has been filed against you. Within 21 days after the service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it) - or 60 days if you are the United States or the United States agency, or an officer or employee of the United States described in Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 (a)(2) or (3) - you must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The answer or motion must be served on the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney, whose name and address are: COZEN O’CONNOR, VALERIE D. ROJAS (SBN 180041), VROJAS@ COZEN.COM, 601 SOUTH FIGUEROA ST #3700, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017. If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. You also must file your answer or motion with the court. Date 06/17/2025, Mark B. Busby, Clerk of the Court. SCOTTSDALE INSURANCE COMPANY’S COMPLAINT For its Complaint against Defendants RepairPal, Inc. (“RepairPal”) and Aubrey Jackson Shelton II (“Shelton”), Plaintiff Scottsdale Insurance Company (“Scottsdale”) states as follows: 1. This is an insurance coverage action seeking declaratory relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201, 2202, and 1332 and for breach of contract. PARTIES 2. Scottsdale is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Ohio with its principal place of business located in Scottsdale, Arizona. 3. RepairPal is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware with its principal place of business located in San Francisco, California. 4. Shelton was a senior accountant at RepairPal and is a citizen of the State of California. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 5. The Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1332(a)(1). There is complete diversity of citizenship between Scottsdale, on the one hand, and RepairPal and Shelton, on the other hand, and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 exclusive of interest and costs. 6. Venue is proper in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b)(1) and (2) because Shelton resides in San Francisco and RepairPal is headquartered in San Francisco, and a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred in this district. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS The Policy 7. Scottsdale issued Business and Management Indemnity Policy No. EKS3468389 to RepairPal (the “Policy”) effective for the period from March 1, 2023 to March 1, 2024 (the “Policy Period”). A copy of the Policy is attached hereto as “Exhibit 1.” 8. Subject to the Policy’s terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions, and endorsements, the Policy provides coverage under an Employment Practices Coverage Section and a Directors and Officers and Company (“D&O”) Coverage Section. (Ex. 1 at Declarations, Item 3.) 9. Insuring Clause A(1) of the D&O Coverage Section states that Scottsdale shall pay the “Loss” of the “Directors and Officers” for which the “Directors and Officers” are not indemnified by RepairPal and which the “Directors and Officers” have become legally obligated to pay by reason of a “Claim” first made against the “Directors and Officers” during the Policy Period or, if elected, the Extended Period and reported to Scottsdale pursuant to Section E(1) of the Policy, for a “Wrongful Act” taking place prior to the end of the Policy Period. (Ex. 1 at D&O Coverage Section § A(1).) 10. Insuring Clause A(2) of the D&O Coverage Section states that Scottsdale shall pay the “Loss” of the “Company” for which the “Company” has indemnified the “Directors and Officers” and which the “Directors and Officers” have become legally obligated to pay by reason of a “Claim” first made against the “Directors and Officers” during the Policy Period or, if elected, the Extended Period and reported to Scottsdale pursuant to Section E(1) of the Policy, for a “Wrongful Act” taking place prior to the end of the Policy Period. (Ex. 1 at D&O Coverage Section § A(2).) 11. “Directors and Officers” is defined in the D&O Coverage Section, in relevant part, as any person who was, now is, or shall become a duly elected or appointed director, officer, or similar executive of the Company, or a full-time or part-time employee of RepairPal. (Ex. 1 at D&O Coverage Section § B(4), as amended by Endorsements No. 25, 32, 40.) 12. “Claim” is defined in the D&O Coverage Section, in pertinent part, as “a criminal proceeding against any ‘Insured’ commenced by a return of an indictment or similar document, or receipt of filing of a notice of charges,” among other things. (Ex. 1 at D&O Coverage Section §§ B(1)(d), as amended by Endorsements No. 4, 30, 34.) 13. “Insured” is defined as the “Company” (i.e., RepairPal) and the Directors and Officers. (Ex. 1 at D&O Coverage Section § B(5); General Terms & Conditions § B(2); Declarations, Item 1.) 14. “Loss” is defined in the D&O Coverage Section, in relevant part, as damages, judgments, settlements, pre-judgment or post-judgment interest awarded by a court, and “Costs, Charges and Expenses” incurred by Directors and Officers under Insuring Clause 1, with several exceptions. (Ex. 1 at D&O Coverage Section § B(7), as amended by Endorsement No. 7.) 15. “Wrongful Act” is defined in the D&O Coverage Section, in relevant part, as: any actual or alleged error, omission, misleading statement, misstatement, neglect, breach of duty or act allegedly committed or attempted by: a. any of the Directors and Officers, while acting in their capacity as such, or any matter claimed against any Director and Officer solely by reason of his or her serving in such capacity; b. any of the Directors and Officers, while acting in their capacity as a director, officer, trustee, governor, executive director or similar position of any ‘Outside Entity’ where such service is with the knowledge and consent of [RepairPal] . . . . (Ex. 1 at D&O Coverage Section § B(9).) 16. “Costs, Charges and Expenses” is defined in the D&O Coverage Section, in pertinent part, as “reasonable and necessary legal costs, charges, fees and expenses incurred by any of the Insureds in defending Claims . . . .” (Ex. 1 at D&O Coverage Section § B(3)(a), as amended by Endorsement No. 34.) 17. The Policy states that it shall be the duty of Scottsdale and not the duty of the Insureds to defend any Claim. (Ex. 1 at D&O Coverage Section § F(1).) 18. The Policy states: “The Insureds agree not to settle or offer to settle any Claim, incur any Costs, Charges and Expenses or otherwise assume any contractual obligation to admit any liability with respect to any Claim without the prior written consent of [Scottsdale], such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. [Scottsdale] shall not be liable for any settlement, Costs, Charges and Expenses, assumed obligation or admission to which it has not consented” (the “Consent Provision”). (Ex. 1 at D&O Coverage Section § F(3).) The Underlying Action 19. On or about August 15, 2023, the United States of America

SCOTTSDALE-2x11.5-LEGAL-122525.indd 1

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408041 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): BLACK HEART TATTOO APPAREL, 177 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): BLACK HEART TATTOO APPAREL, 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 12/19/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026

filed an Indictment against Shelton, No. 3:23-cr-00258-JSC, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Underlying Action”). A copy of the Underlying Action is attached hereto as “Exhibit 2.” 20. In the Underlying Action, the Government alleged that Shelton engaged in a scheme to defraud RepairPal by diverting money in RepairPal’s bank accounts for his own personal use. (Ex. 2 ¶¶ 6-7.) 21. The Government asserted that Shelton inflated his salary and bonus by representing that he was entitled to receive “executive loans” and “reimbursements” that he did not actually incur, provided false payroll documentation in furtherance of the scheme, and failed to disclose to RepairPal that he had improperly transferred money from RepairPal’s bank accounts to his personal accounts. (Id. ¶ 7.) 22. The Government asserted the following causes of action against Shelton: (1) bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344(a); (2) wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; (3) tax evasion in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201; (4) aiding and abetting in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2; and (5) forfeiture in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(2). (Id. at 1.) Scottsdale’s Coverage Position 23. After the Underlying Action was tendered to Scottsdale for coverage under the Policy, on or about October 2, 2023, counsel for Scottsdale sent a letter to counsel for Shelton indicating that Scottsdale would provide a defense to Shelton in connection with the Claim pursuant to its right and duty to do so under the Policy. A copy of the October 2, 2023 letter is attached hereto as “Exhibit 3.” 24. Pursuant to Scottsdale’s right and duty to defend under the Policy, Scottsdale appointed Theresa Kristovich of the law firm of Kabat Chapman & Ozmer to defend Shelton with respect to the allegations asserted against him in the Underlying Action. (Ex. 3 at 5.) 25. On or about October 6, 2023, counsel for Shelton sent a letter to counsel for Scottsdale disputing Scottsdale’s entitlement to appoint counsel to defend Shelton in the Underlying Action. A copy of the October 6, 2023 letter is attached hereto as “Exhibit 4.” 26. In the October 6, 2023 letter, counsel for Shelton stated: “Mr. Shelton requests that Scottsdale accept his appointment of Paul Hastings as counsel and cover Paul Hastings’ fees as they defend him in the criminal case.” (Ex. 4 at 3.) 27. On or about October 13, 2023, counsel for Scottsdale sent a letter to counsel for Shelton again stating that it was appointing Theresa Kristovich of Kabat Chapman & Ozmer to defend Shelton pursuant to Scottsdale’s right and duty to do so under the Policy. A copy of the October 13, 2023 letter is attached hereto as “Exhibit 5.” 28. Scottsdale has never consented, in writing or otherwise, to Shelton incurring any Costs, Charge and Expenses by any law firm or company other than Kabat Chapman & Ozmer in connection with the Underlying Action. 29. Shelton has refused to use Theresa Kristovich of Kabat Chapman & Ozmer to defend him in the Underlying Action. 30. Shelton retained Paul Hastings LLP to represent him in connection with the Underlying Action without Scottsdale’s consent. 31. Upon information and belief, Paul Hastings LLP incurred fees and expenses in connection with its representation of Shelton in the Underlying Action. 32. On or about February 29, 2024, Shelton filed a lawsuit against RepairPal, No. 2024-0197, in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware alleging that RepairPal failed to advance to Shelton the fees and expenses that he allegedly incurred in defense of the Underlying Action in violation of the RepairPal Bylaws and a February 24, 2020 Indemnification Agreement entered into between RepairPal and Shelton (the “Advancement Action”). 33. On or about June 3, 2024, the court in the Advancement Action entered an Order directing RepairPal to pay two-thirds of the fees and expenses that Shelton allegedly incurred in defense of the Underlying Action. 34. On or about May 28, 2025, Scottsdale was informed that RepairPal believes that Scottsdale should reimburse it for the fees and expenses that it has been ordered to pay that were allegedly incurred by Paul Hastings, LLP on behalf of Shelton in defense of the Underlying Action. COUNT I – DECLARATORY JUDGMENT AS TO CONSENT PROVISION 35. Scottsdale hereby adopts by reference the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 34 of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein. 36. An actual, present, and justiciable controversy exists concerning whether Shelton violated the Consent Provision by failing to obtain Scottsdale’s consent to Paul Hastings, LLP incurring fees and expenses in connection with the Underlying Action. 37. Scottsdale requests that the Court declare that there is no coverage under the Policy for any fees or expenses incurred by Paul Hastings, LLP (or any other law firm or company to which Scottsdale did not consent) in connection with Shelton’s defense in the Underlying Action and, as a result, Scottsdale is not obligated to reimburse Shelton or RepairPal for any such fees and expenses. COUNT II – BREACH OF CONTRACT 38. Scottsdale hereby adopts by reference the allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 37 of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein. 39. The Policy constitutes a valid and enforceable contract between Scottsdale and Defendants. 40. Scottsdale has performed all of its obligations under the Policy with respect to the Underlying Action. 41. Defendants breached the Policy by failing to obtain Scottsdale’s consent to use Paul Hastings, LLP to defend Shelton in the Underlying Action. 42. Defendants’ breach of the Policy was material and, therefore, excused any obligation on the part of Scottsdale to provide coverage under the Policy for any fees or expenses incurred by Paul Hastings, LLP in connection with the Underlying Action. 43. Defendants’ breach of the Policy was a substantial factor in causing Scottsdale’s damages. PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, Scottsdale prays that this Court enter an Order: 1. declaring that there is no coverage under the Policy for any fees or expenses incurred by Paul Hastings, LLP (or any other law firm or company to which Scottsdale did not consent) in connection with Shelton’s defense in the Underlying Action and, as a result, Scottsdale is not obligated to reimburse Shelton or RepairPal for any such fees and expenses; 2. finding that Defendants’ breach of the Policy was material and, therefore, excused any obligation on the part of Scottsdale to provide coverage to Shelton for any fees or expenses incurred by Paul Hastings, LLP in connection with the Underlying Action; 3. awarding Scottsdale its costs, expenses, and attorneys’ fees; and 4. awarding Scottsdale all other relief that the Court deems just and equitable. 5. Jury trial demanded. DATED: June 16, 2025, COZEN O’CONNOR By: Valerie Rojas Attorneys for Plaintiff SCOTTSDALE INSURANCE COMPANY

12/19/25 9:02 AM

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408039 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): STOOKEY’S CLUB MODERNE; STOOKEY’S; CLUB MODERNE; STOOKEY’S AT YOUR SERVICE, 895 BUSH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): A FRISCOVICH LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/22/2014 The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/18/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408040 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PHATWOOD SMOKEHOUSE DELI; FULL TUMMIES NETWORK, 4928 THIRD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): PHATWOOD SMOKEHOUSE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/18/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/18/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408096 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CQ NOODLES, 2121 CLEMENT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): CK WONTON NOODLE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/01/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/30/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408099 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): BAY AIR HEATING & COOLING, 2390 CHESTNUT ST #303, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): HIGHLANDS ENTERPRISES 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 12/30/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408100 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): CUSTOMER FIRST CONSULTING, 12 KRAUSGRILL PL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): NGM ENTERPRISES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/15/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/30/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408109 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): OWNTIME COFFEE, 303 CORBETT AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): OWNTIME VENTURES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/18/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/31/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408067 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): SF SMASH & GRILL, 380 BUSH ST #5, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): ASIAN EXPRESS RESTAURANT LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/16/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/26/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408083 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): MOTACITY, 928 VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): CALIVERDE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/29/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/29/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE 2021-0395059 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as LESLIE’S NAILS, 1548 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by CAN QUANG LE. The fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/30/2021. The abandonment of fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/23/2025. JAN 08, 15, 22, 29, 2026 AMENDED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC25-560337 To all interested persons, the Petitioner DAVID SAMUEL WELCH filed an amended petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name DAVID SAMUEL WELCH AKA SAM JONES III AKA SAM III JONES AKA SAM JONES AKA MYRON EDGAR SCHOLES JR. AKA MICHAEL JON DOBIASH to proposed name DAVID SAMUEL 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: FEBRUARY 24, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560378 To all interested persons, the Petitioner SARINA ARNOLD filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name SARINA ARNOLD to proposed name SARINA ARNOLD RABKIN. 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: FEBRUARY 24, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560379 To all interested persons, the Petitioner STEPHANIE MARIE WILDERINK filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name STEPHANIE MARIE WILDERINK AKA STEPHANIE MARIE CASSERLY to proposed name STEPHANIE WILDERINK CASSERLY. 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: FEBRUARY 24, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560354 To all interested persons, the Petitioner REBIANA YAVON ROBI filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name REBIANA YAVON ROBI to proposed name REMMY AMINA MUHAMMAD NELMS. 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: FEBRUARY 17, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560367 To all interested persons, the Petitioner ANTWAINIA MAKIA RENE BONER filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ANTWAINIA MAKIA RENE BONER to proposed name UNATHI IFE UMI NELMS. 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: FEBRUARY 17, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-26-560368 To all interested persons, the Petitioner AKILI EYVONNE JANICE BONER filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name AKILI EYVONNE JANICE BONER to proposed name KAMILI THEMBA NELMS. 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: FEBRUARY 17, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO CASE NUMBER CNC-25-560353 To all interested persons, the Petitioner ROBERT EUGENE DEPEW filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name ROBERT EUGENE DEPEW to proposed name MILO SNEDDEN DEPEW. 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: FEBRUARY 17, 2026, 9:00 am, Dept. 103N, Rm. 103N, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408151 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PORTAL MINDFUL RETREATS, 1655 MISSION ST #1030, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): LAURA RAMOS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/06/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408029 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): THE ART OF COLOR DESIGNS, 101 HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARD 2223A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): DOYLE RHONEL ROBERTS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/18/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/18/2025. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408165 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ROGER BOJAR DEHINGERFELD, 278 27TH AVE #303, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): IGOR KOTLYAR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/08/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0407989 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): LUCCI TUNES, 2514 CLAY ST #4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): CHRISTOPHER CARLUCCI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/08/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/12/2025. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408197 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ON TIME EVERY TIME DELIVERY, 1570 REVERE AVE #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): CHET ALLEN. 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 01/12/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408179 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): DURAND DESIGN STUDIO, 171 ALBION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant/Owner(s): DAVID DURAND. 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 01/09/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408156 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): DIVISADERO FLORIST, 1802 DIVISADERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a general partnership. Registrant/Owner(s): SALVADOR RODRIGUEZ PALOMINO & JOSEPH E. CRESPO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/07/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 20260408131 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ACE’S GARAGE DOOR REPAIR & INSTALLATION, 1943 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): ACES GARAGE DOOR INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/09/2009. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/06/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408107 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): KINGDOM OF DUMPLING HOMEMADE, 2048 TARAVAL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/ Owner(s): ASIAN AMERICAN FOOD SF INC. (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 12/31/2025. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408140 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): WESTEK BUILDERS, 242 W LARCH RD #D, TRACY, CA 95304. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): WESTEK SYSTEMS INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/07/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408146 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): YUMMY YUMMY YOGURT & ICE CREAM, 1391 HAIGHT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): YUMMY RETAIL INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/07/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408188 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): VITAL MIND THERAPY, 1818 BROADWAY #401, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): VITAL MIND FAMILY THERAPY INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/12/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/12/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408194 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): MAISON BOUTIQUE, 3385 SACRAMENTO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation. Registrant/Owner(s): AUREN GROUP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/08/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/12/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408`38 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): LEELING IMPORT & EXPORT, 5534 3RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a married couple. Registrant/ Owner(s): HAINAN LEE & JOANNIE LEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/22/2001. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/06/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408144 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ON TIME HVAC SF, 1859 POWELL ST #136, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): DYNAMIC’S LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408148 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): KA KAI NORTHERN THAI, 4133 18TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): KHAMSIRI LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/07/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2025-0408104 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): NAILTASTIC SALON, 4739 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): 3LBDO LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/31/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/31/2025. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408153 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): YOUR NEW BARBER, 1346 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): DAPPER & DETAILED LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/13/2021. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/07/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408180 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): ERIK’S DELICAFE, 425 MISSION ST #139, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): JIMENEZ HOSPITALITY SF LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/09/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/09/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408167 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): THE BEAUTY LOUNGE, 2452 LOMBARD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): JUBILEE HOME LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/08/2026. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/08/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408137 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): PARC 55 SAN FRANCISCO - A HILTON HOTEL, 55 CYRIL MAGNIN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): P55 SF HOTEL OWNER LLC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/21/2025. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/06/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 2026-0408209 Fictitious Business Name(s)/Trade Name (DBA): NEST AND ROOT PROPERTIES, 2200 FRANCISCO ST #15, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company. Registrant/Owner(s): NEST AND ROOT PROPERTIES 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 01/13/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE 2022-0398565 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as U-NIQ CUTS, 323 NOE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by JULIE WONG. The fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 10/26/2022. The abandonment of fictitious business name statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/06/2026. JAN 15, 22, 29, FEB 05, 2026

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Mark Morris Dance Group’s Trip To The ‘Moon’ New work blends science, space and stunning steps

Mark Morris Dance Group’s ’Moon’

by Jim Provenzano

T

Crave

he internationally renowned Mark Morris Dance Group returns to Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley with a new co-commissioned work, “Moon.” The themes encompass lunar fascination, Apollo astronauts and outer space mysteries. The hour-long work for nine dancers is partially inspired by the Golden Record, the audio recording placed aboard the two 1977 Voyager spacecrafts as a means of communicating with extraterrestrials. Opinionated, erudite and utterly brilliant, Morris, who’s been performing and making

dances for more than half a century, is always a pleasure to talk to about dance and art. In a phone interview from his home in Manhattan, Morris, who is gay, “but I prefer homosexual” he said, discussed the impetus for the work and its various creative elements. “We’re working with weightlessness and less gravity and science fiction and romance and poetry and the unknown and black and white and reflection (and reflective black and white costumes by Isaac Mizrahi),” said Morris. “All the light on the moon is reflected. And it’s all prespace walk, really. I mean, that’s mentioned, as are the 12 astronauts who set foot on the moon.”

After performing folk dance and flamenco as a teen in his home town of Seattle, and in Spain, Morris, 69, shifted to modern dance in New York City, where he performed with Eliot Feld, Laura Dean and other companies before starting his own in 1980. From 1988 to 1991, Morris worked in Brussels, replacing Maurice Bejart’s company. His became the Monnaie Dance Group Mark Morris. Along with his own company that later reformed in Brooklyn, Morris has the distinction of having set works on several ballet companies, operas, and his modern ‘Nutcracker’ holiday treat, “The Hard Nut,” frequently played at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley.

by Jim Provenzano

W

ill Skip get a spin-off? Will there be a musical episode? Is there a secret extra episode from the Upside Down? And will “Boots” reboot? Whether these questions completely beguile you, or you know exactly what’s implied, read on for the ups and downs, the heated hockey hunks and current queer characters in three hit TV series, with several spoilers.

Boots-less cries

I want my gay TV

‘Heated Rivalry,’ ‘Stranger Things’ and the rumored return of ‘Boots’

Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams in ‘Heated Rivalry’

Famously labeled “woke garbage” by Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson, the cancellation of the acclaimed Netflix series “Boots,” despite its popularity, led to speculation that the decision was influenced by political optics during its pending merger with Warner Bros. and Discovery. In a candid interview with Variety in November 2025, Brent Miller, who co-produced “Boots” with the late TV legend Norman Lear, discussed the proposed second season that would move beyond its initial source, Greg Cope White’s memoir, “The Pink Marine.” The series’ debut season focused on the psychological and physical rigors of a 1990s Marine Corps boot camp, with expanded storylines for multiple characters not all in the book, including lead role Cameron Cope (Miles Heiser) and three other gay characters also played by out gay actors Angus O’Brien, Max Parker and Jack Cameron Kay. The series became a hit, not just with LGBTQ audiences. According to Miller, “Boots”’ second season was set to pick up from season one’s cliffhanger, with news of the bombing of Baghdad shown on a TV.

Cosmos-politan

Music is, of course, a constant inspiration for the celebrated choreographer, his choices ranging from Gamelan music to Baroque, The Beatles and even Violent Femmes. “I’ve always used contemporary music of some period,” Morris explained. “It may not be contemporary music now, but it was popular music for somebody at some point. That’s true of Haydn.” For “Moon,” Morris chose of variety of songs and sounds from the famous Golden Record attached to the Voyager satellite, and other songs related with lunar themes. See page 12 >>

The “take the boys to war” second season had already been planned, transitioning the characters from training to active deployment during the early stages of the Gulf War era. “Boots” carries the distinction of being the final series executive-produced by Norman Lear before his passing in December 2023. Miller told Variety that Lear was deeply passionate about the project’s “radical honesty.” “If Norman were here today, he would be standing in gratitude for the story we were able to tell, but he would also be the first one to say the fight isn’t over.” Miller is currently working with Sony Pictures Television to shop the series to other platforms. Fingers, and boot laces, crossed. Either way, the show has expanded the careers of several handsome actors who have since appeared in multiple fashion spreads, interviews, and hopefully new films and TV projects.

Hockey smut

Unless you’ve been completely off-line for the last few weeks, you may have noticed that (in between horrible real-life news), the gay hockey romance series “Heated Rivalry” has completely taken over many social media platforms. The lead actors have made numerous public appearances that continue to bolster the popularity of the show. Based on the best-selling six-book series by Canadian writer Rachel Reid, the show was adapted into a six-episode first season by writer and director Jacob Tierney. You may know him from two shows with Canadian hockey connections, the wryly comic “Letterkenny” and “Shoresy,” both co-created with hunky actor Jared Keeso. See page 13 >>

<< Dance

12 • Bay Area Repor ter • January 15-21, 2026

t

Performed on period instruments and in the style of the time.

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Mark Morris Dance Group’s ’Moon’

<<

Mark Morris

From page 11

“I found out about the availability of the recording years ago,” Morris said, “whenever an anniversary was, and they released it and I own it on LP. It’s so fabulous. A musicologist wrote a fabulous, funny, interesting, crazy book about the Golden Record, amongst other things like communicating with other ... We don’t know what a whale, or a porpoise says, or a fucking octopus, and now we’re going to understand these things in outer space and they’re going to build the record, which is so funny and ironic.” “Carl Sagan put this recording together,” Morris added, “and it’s just so funny and futile and wonderful. It’s people saying, ‘Hello from Earth. I hope you’re fine,’ in English, and Urdu, and other languages. So it’s amazing and it’s all just… evidence.” The other music includes, Morris said, “songs from films and ballroom music from the ’20s through the ’50s on the topic of the moon. Not all of them are well known; some romantic, sentimental, preHays Code. There were 1,000 songs I could have used and didn’t.”

Choreographer Mark Morris

Space odyssey

A.C.T. presents The Streetcar Project’s production of

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Morris did want to keep a few secrets, so he’s not divulging how much of the Golden Record or which other songs will be used. But with visual projections inspired by NASA footage and assembled by designer Wendall K. Harrington, who has more than 20 Broadway shows among her credits, audiences can be sure to find it intriguing. “Wendall is doing a job that nobody does anymore,” said Morris. “She’s designed the projections, and I’ve never done that in my own work. And she’s great and supplied all of this from all of these wonderful drawings and photographs.” Along with dozens of commissions and awards, Morris has the distinction of overseeing the construction and growth of the Mark Morris Dance Center, a facility with studios in Brooklyn. Along with the company’s use, the center hosts youth and adult classes, workshops, and performances with a junior company as well, and Dance for PD®, a disabled focus for people with Parkinson’s. The firstever such classes with that focus are now hosted in 28 countries, including Berkeley, at SF’s ODC Dance, and San Francisco Ballet. Jump forward to recently, when one of Morris’s frequently visited performing arts centers commissioned the dance before the venue got an abrupt –and illegal– name change. The development of “Moon” did come into a bit of controversy when it was commissioned by the Kennedy Center, however before Trump took office the second time. “When we did ‘Moon’ at the Kennedy Center, they commissioned it with not enough money and it was before the [2024] election,” said Morris. “People I’ve known for decades who worked their asses off at

the Kennedy Center dance department and music division asked me to do this. I said, ‘Absolutely, I will do it.’ I started working on it and we got a small amount of the commission paid for it. But we had an angel on one shoulder and a devil on another shoulder; ‘How dare you perform at the Kennedy Center?’ ‘How dare you not perform at the Kennedy Center?’” Despite dire situations for the arts, Morris remains strong amidst the struggle. “I wanted to do a show that was cheap to put on because there’s no money of any kind. And of course it wasn’t cheap. To make something look cheap is incredibly expensive.” The shake-up and renaming controversy were about to happen after his company’s performances. “It’s so repulsive,” he said of the large presidential portrait in the lobby. “No one can even go there anymore. It’s like Chernobyl. My personal politics are somewhat see-through, but also I’m not trying to win anybody’s vote with my work; I never have and I never will,” said Morris. “Fuck Trump. You may quote me there.” “When we were there, people were just being fired,” added Morris. “There was a big demonstration. This Kennedy Festival about space exploration took place, with my piece that I’d worked my ass off on. It’s great and we opened it there. It was very sparsely attended and people lost their minds. But I was so, so happy and proud and, frankly, patriotic to have done that, and I want credit for that.” t Mark Morris Dance Group performs ‘Moon,’ $41-$156, January 23-25 at Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley. www.calperformances.org www.markmorrisdancegroup.org

t <<

TV>>

January 15-21, 2026 • Bay Area Repor ter • 13

Gay TV

From page 12

How did “Heated Rivalry” become such an instant hit? After Crave and Accent Aigu Entertainment produced it in Canada on a shoestring budget, HBO picked it up for wide distribution in the U.S. (and the UK as of this writing). Most of the lead actors were relative unknowns before the series premiered. Series creator Tierney took it a big leap forward by juggling two romantic storylines from two of the books; Shane (Hudson Williams) and Ilya (Connor Storrie), the Canadian and Russian rivals turned “lovers” (“Don’t say that,” blurts Shane in one comically touching scene). The second coupling is with hockey star Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) and smoothie barista Kip (Robbie G.K.), dubbed ‘Skip.’

Smooth and smoothies

The whirlwind closeted romances between the gay characters clinched the popularity of the show. But it was the ending scene in episode five that sent the series into super-virality. After winning a hockey championship, players’ families are allowed to go onto the ice, but Scott, alone and lacking a family, looks to the stands to see Kip, waves him down and onto the ice for a deep embrace and kiss which rouses the audience to cheers. That televised moment, seen by both Ilia and Shane from their separate homes, leads to the sixth episode where they get to spend a week together in a private cottage, until Shane’s dad discovers them. A touching coming out follows. A happy ending? Possibly a new beginning, since Jacob Tierney so carefully crafted intertwining stories and moments. Even the episode five song’s lyrics by Wolf Party are woven into the script. In addition to the many women fans, straight sports podcasters have joined in, offering tearful reactions to clips from the show. Fan reaction and speculation will continue, but have to wait, as Tierney explained that he doesn’t expect the second of three seasons to air until 2027. Storrie is known for a few films, including a pivotal prison scene in “Joker: Folie á Deux,” while Williams, in a January 8 guest spot on “The Tonight Show,” admitted that his last job was as a waiter in a Canadian Old Spaghetti Factory. And last week, Williams co-presented with Storrie at the Golden Globe Awards on January 11.

Netflix

Miles Heiser in ‘Boots’

just high; they’re ‘prestige-level’ high. It proves that when you find a story with this much heart and a fanbase this dedicated, the label on the production –whether it’s an ‘HBO Original’ or a ‘Crave Original’– doesn’t matter to the audience. They just want Shane and Ilya.” What kind of social impact will the show have? Will LGBTQ shows get produced more often, or is this all a pucking fluke? Former NHL player Sean Avery believes its success could help pave the way for more openly gay players in NHL. Avery, who played for several NHL teams, including the Rangers and Stars, said he hopes the show’s visibility encourages acceptance, noting, “I should think this opens the door for the first gay NHL player.”

Netflix

Noah Schnapp in ‘Stranger Things’

Coming out to fight

Finally, just a few things about “Stranger Things” and its gay and lesbian characters. The series, which took 10 years to produce, finished with a season 5 two-hour grand finale aired January 31. One of the pivotal scenes was when Will Byers (Noah Schnapp, who’s also gay) comes out to almost the entire cast. While the tearful scene may have been touching for many, it was ridiculed by others, particularly homophobic gamer bros who think the series is about their (incel) values. But Will’s homosexuality was pivotal to the series, in that nemesis Vecna/ Henry (Jamie Campbell Bower) was using it to guilt-trip him into not being able to unleash his special supernatural powers.

Crave

Robbie G.K. and François Arnaud in ‘Heated Rivalry’

Similarly, the lesbian character Robin (Maya Hawke) stepped up, had a romance with Vickie Dunne (AmyBeth McNulty), and their relationship was also pivotal to the last two episodes as well. The musical adaptation of “Stranger Things” continues its Broadway run, and recently offered a bonus, in which actor Bower made a cameo appearance in the stage version of his role as Vecna/Henry Creel. While some are busy debating the merits of those shows, straight ally Joe Keery is busy doing the work. The “Stranger Things” star, known to music fans as Djo, is using his global tour to raise vital funds for The Ally Coalition. By donating one dollar from every

ticket sold, Keery is providing direct support to the organization founded by Jack and Rachel Antonoff, which provides resources and advocacy for LGBTQ youth, Gay Star News reports. Keery reflected on the importance of visibility, writing, “I support The Ally Coalition and I am happy to be a part of it and bring awareness to it; a safe space for people I guess just to be themselves. In a climate where representation is often under fire, seeing a lead cast member fund safe spaces for the community is exactly the energy we need.” t

SPECIAL GUEST BRITNEY COLEMAN

Massive success

Arnaud recently called out the NHL for trying to capitalize on the show’s success while conveniently ignoring its own problematic history with LGBTQ players and fans. At the Critics’ Choice Awards, Arnaud told Variety that he’s been invited to multiple hockey games since the show became a phenomenon. “The fact that the NHL is using us to bring people in... I think it’s great. I just hope that it brings on actual change in the league and that it has a real influence on how they treat their own players and the possibility of that. Because it’s not historically the most open association.” And unlike the “Boots” cast, the only “Heated” actor to come out as bisexual is Arnaud, who has posted pictures with boyfriends on social media. Robbie G.K. discussed his athletic background in a recent interview, and how he initially auditioned for the role of Scott Hunter “with a mullet and a shitty mustache.” He also notes that he’d like to have a musical number to show off his singing skills. Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max, recently confirmed that renewing the series for a second season was “one of the simplest decisions of the year.” During a press event in late 2025, Bloys leaned into the “strategic surprise” of the show’s success. “We look at acquisitions as a way to supplement our core brand, but ‘Heated Rivalry’ didn’t just supplement the schedule; it dominated it,” he said. “The engagement metrics we’re seeing aren’t

ANDREW AND LIPPA FRIENDS

Andrew Lippa and Friends / January 24 Tony-nominated composer and performer Andrew Lippa —known for Broadway’s The Addams Family and The Wild Party as well as SFGMC world premieres “I Am Harvey Milk,” and “Unbreakable”—will thrill audiences with songs, stories, and surprises at the piano.

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<< Books

14 • Bay Area Repor ter • January 15-21, 2026

author’s new Andrew Ramer’s ‘Tales of an Urban Mystic’ Spiritual ‘spiraling’ memoir by Jim Van Buskirk

A

queer Jewish spiritual leader and prolific author now living in Oakland, Andrew Ramer is a national –rather a supernatural– treasure. The titles of his many books attest to his far-reaching interests. After the success of his bestselling “Ask Your Angels: A Practical Guide to Working with the Messengers of Heaven to Empower and Enrich Your Life,” Ramer went on to write “Angel Answers: A Joyful Guide to Creating Heaven on Earth.” Profiled over 30 years ago in “Gay Soul: Finding the Heart of Gay Spirit and Nature With Sixteen Writers, Healers, Teachers, and Visionaries,” Ramer penned a trilogy of “Spiritual Journeybooks for Gay Men”: “Two Flutes Playing,” “Two Hearts Dancing,” and “Our Tribe Chanting.” He is also the author of five books of contemporary midrashim, commentary on Jewish scripture, “Texting with Angels,” “Torah Told Different,” “Fragments of the Brooklyn Talmud,” “Deathless,” and “Queering the Text.”

“Ever After: The Extended Lives and Work of Eleven Famous Writers” imagines an alternate reality where Jane Austen, Henry David Thoreau, George Eliot, Leo Tolstoy, Emily Dickinson, Emma Lazarus, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Colette, Virginia Woolf, and Franz Kafka all enjoyed longer lives with someone of the same gender. And that’s only some of his prodigious creative output. In his latest book, “Tales of an Urban Mystic,” Ramer reveals the intimate, incredible story of his own interior life. The title of this mind-boggling memoir, published by Wipf and Stock, fails to adequately convey the richness of the many worlds that Ramer inhabits. Its subtitle, “a spiraling memoir” attempts to characterize his amazing life, roughly chronological, spanning seven decades in an ever-expanding spiral of people, places and experiences, frequently circling back on themselves. His introduction, “A Pathway to these Tales,” sets the scene: “From as far back as age three I heard voices in my head, remembered places I’d never been to, had encounters with beings from other realities, awake and in

Janet Sheard

Author Andrew Ramer

my dreams, and liked to leave my body in spirit and fly around my room. Given the time and culture I was raised in, I never heard other people talking about experiences like that, and from their reactions when I did, I knew at an early age to never talk about mine, tried to stay in my body, and did my very best to stop the voices, with some success during the day but none when I was dreaming. So you can probably understand why for much of my life I’ve asked myself: “Am I a mystic or a mistake?” As he looks back on his life: “At 74 I know that we all come into the world with different gifts and know that in other times and places mine would have been recognized by the elders, who would have taught me to develop them for the good of our village, our tribe, the world.” In 2009 Ramer was actively involved in creating a new siddur, or Jewish prayer book, for Congregation Sha’ar Zahav that engages and transcends tra-

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a good writer, artist, teacher, friend – and if you’re reading this book I imagine it’s because you’re aware of your own innate gifts and are looking for stories to corroborate them, so that you can nurture and use them, for the betterment of yourself and the world.” After forty esoteric, yet approachable, short chapters chronicling his astounding life experiences, he grounds the narrative with “a Pathway Back to the World:” “Angels, spirit guides, ancestors. During this period they guided me back to revisit scores of past lives, on other planets and here, in China, Japan, India, ancient Egypt, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, many shared with teachers, friends, and family in this life. And spiraled me back to my very first incarnation here, to a moment I’ve remembered for much of this life…” Ramer concisely concludes his unique offering with: “So I dream. Wake. Meditate. Eat. Pray with my legs. Read. Worry. Write. Mourn. Laugh. Teach. Talk. Walk by the lake and watch the birds, the trees, the light. Thank you so much for walking with me. I hope that something in these odd little rambling tales will touch and illuminate something wonderful in you.” t (Full disclosure: I’ve known Ramer for many years, as a friend and former writing partner, and included his essay “Tales of a Male Lesbian” in “Identity Envy; Wanting to Be Who We’re Not: Creative Nonfiction by Queer Writers.”)

www.wipfandstock.com www.andrewramer.com

‘Natural Terrain: Dave Martin’s Subversive San Francisco’ New exhibit of nude physique photos at the Bob Mizer Museum by Jim Provenzano

A

s one of the prominent male physique photographers of the 20th century, Dave Martin also had Bay Area connection because as he was known primarily for photographing athletes at Stanford UniUNDERHILL.indd 1 12/22/25 6:40 AM versity in their prime. But Martin (1923-2014) also had a penchant for 1977 – 2024 outdoor nude photography. A new exhibit at the Bob Mizer Museum and Photographic Archives will showcase some of his best work. Martin, born in East Pennsylvania moved to San Francisco in 1948. He was self-taught and opened his first studio on Sacramento Street in 1951. He photographed military men, college athletes, law enforcement. His mentor was Alonzo Hanagan (Lon of New York) whom Monday 8am he met in 1947. As his photography (last seating 9:45pm) efforts expanded, Martin branded Tuesday 8am as “Dave of San Francisco.” New Adjusted Hours himself (last seating 9:45pm) Like the museum’s namesake, and other photographers, Martin Wednesday 8am suffered arrested imprisonment for (last seating 9:45pm) mailing images of nude male modThursday 8am els. Despite prosecution in 1955, Open 24 Hours Martin later continued his work, preserving vital visual documentaFriday tion of mid-century gay culture durOpen 24 Hours ing intense governmental represSaturday sion. Sourced from the permanent Open 24 Hours collection at the Mizer Museum’s Sunday 7am archives, the exhibition includes (last seating 9:45pm) works that showcase models in Bay Area landscapes. In 2003 the Green Library at Stanford acquired copies of most of his photographs eventuProudly the community 1977. 3991-Aserving 17th Street at Market &since Castro ally, 2600 prints. Martin’s work was published (415) 864-9795

415 370 7152 • StevenUnderhill.com

ditional Jewish liturgy with LGBTQ and egalitarian offerings. In 2012 Ramer, who now goes by Eli Andrew Ramer (or sometimes Andrew Eli Ramer), was ordained a maggid, or storyteller, by a Reconstructionist rabbi and a Mennonite pastor, making him perhaps the first such interfaith spiritual guide. Ramer frequently directly addresses the reader, offering a few breathing exercises, including a meditation designed for “awakening and activating your thymus chakra,” an eighth energy center mid-chest to “facilitate our capacity for joyous global connection.” His voice, personal and humorous, pervades: “In the dance of my different gifts – I’m vision-impaired, have a learning disability, can’t drive, or dribble or shoot a basketball, not that I ever wanted to, and I still have to count on my fingers and struggle to keep my checkbook balanced, not that anyone else I know still uses a paper check-book – I know I’m

t

Proudly Celebrating our 49th Year!

Open Daily!

3991-A 17th Street, Market & Castro 415-864-9795

“Dave Bradford,” one of Dave Martin’s iconic physique photos (cropped).

in “American Photography of the Male Nude 1940-1970, Volume III” [Janssen, Berlin, 1996]. He also appeared in the 1999 Bob Mizer documentary, “Beefcake.”

“Natural Terrain: Dave Martin’s Subversive San Francisco” runs through February 28 (free/donations) at 920 Larkin Street. www.bobmizer.org/calendar /dave-martin

t

Books/Theater >>

January 15-21, 2026 • Bay Area Repor ter • 15

Olivia Laing’s ‘The Silver Book’ by Tim Pfaff

rated it so that it was an exact replica of his room at home. Every detail. Even the books. Even the carpet.” As close as we come to getting the truth comes in the novel’s final pages. “He thinks for the first time in months of Alan, and for the first time ever it occurs to him that he might not have been the only reason for his death. A double life is hard to bear. Maybe he, Nicholas, is not exclusively to blame.”

I

n Olivia Laing’s arresting new “The Silver Book” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), their eighth book and second novel, historical fiction, and much else, is turned on its head. Its historical side is a reimagination of Italian cinema in the 1970s, the gritty politics of the tumultuous era that spawned it, and the fascism that resurfaced a quarter-century after the murder of dictator Benito Mussolini. With its concentration on all things cinematic, it’s a book extruded from those movies. Laing leaves the reader to answer the time-honored question: Is the book better than the movies? It’s that age-old question in reverse. The films at the heart of the novel are Federico Fellini’s “Casanova” and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom,” two masterpieces of the era. The magic of the silver screen is everywhere, but what unifies the plot and drives it is the gay relationship between the middle-age Danilo –based on the Oscar-winning set designer and costumier Danilo Donati– and a beautiful young British ginger, the artistic Nicholas. (They are “Dani” and “Nico” to each other.) They meet accidentally, while Dani is in Venice scoping out the city he will recreate in sets and costumes at Rome’s film capital Cinecittà. It’s a relationship with predictable ups and downs but, to the reader’s gain, it has legs. It endures, at least to the end of Laing’s novel. The obligatory couple squabbles aside, their love story provides such warmth as is to be found in the novel. The cast of thousands notwithstanding, the plot is remarkably easy to follow, especially given the complexity of its threads. But there are mysteries,

Author Olivia Laing

Film as mirror

which Laing works rather than solves. A nagging one is the elusive title of Laing’s novel. No such thing appears in the book. Are we referencing the silver screen here or something more totemic?

A ghost story

The novel is told from Nico’s point of view and that of an omniscient narrator. It is intimated early on that he is on the lam after a tragic incident in London –bad enough that he impulsively takes flight, tossing his apartment key into the Thames, and heads off to Venice, famously a place to get lost, or hide in. Laing gives hints about what Nico is running from. No need to fret about spoilers in describing “The Silver Book.” The hidden story has staying power, and Laing’s deft teasing of it turns out to be a wise way to depict it. “Even as a little boy, Nicholas was afraid of prison,” Laing confides early on, more than suggesting that the “tragedy” he’s running from smacks of crime.

Alan, the man at the center of Nico’s paranoia, makes his first appearance in the book tucked in the middle of a single sentence, and what a sentence it is. “It was that clammy, bilious day, the bedroom locked against him, that the fact of Alan’s death became perversely real, that he had escaped the casket into which Nicholas had thrust him three months earlier.” Thoughts and mostly alarming memories of Alan recur through the story. Was his death a suicide? The reader soon learns that Alan and Nico were lovers. “‘I once lived in a mirrored room,’ he says [in an imagined conversation with Pasolini]. I lived with a man who was married and he made an apartment where he could keep me, and he deco-

(L-R) Louis Katz, Clown and a Drummer, and Rotimi Agbabiaka are among the January Jamboree performers.

spices with January Jamboree Variety comedy, circus, magic and music at Club Fugazi by Jim Provenzano

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repare to chase away those January doldrums when a variety of artists take over Club Fugazi for The January Jamboree, a three-week festival celebrating daring performances and eclectic entertainment. Club Fugazi’s hit production of The 7 Fingers’ “Dear San Francisco” is on its winter hiatus, so Electric Circus, an exuberant cabaretstyle evening of variety arts, will take to the stage. Other performances

include comic monologist Josh Kornbluth, mentalist and magician Jay Alexander, and stand-up comedian Louis Katz, who will be taping his shows for a later streaming broadcast. The January Jamboree will also feature a benefit screening of circus films including the acclaimed “Short Circus People,” written, directed by, and starring Emmy-winning actress Britt Lower of Apple TV’s “Severance.” Other acts include aerialists Joey

Art, politics, and sex in a novel about Italian cinema in the 1970s

the Tiger and Vix Nolan, contortionist Dwoira Galilea, violinist Kippy Marks, aerial dancer Saharla Vetsch, and teen juggling phenom Giovanni HunzekerHesed. The 7 Fingers’ teeter board specialists Rodrigo Silva and Lucas Romero will also bring their high-flying acrobatics to this dazzling display of live performance. The January Jamboree will be presented January 14-31 at Club Fugazi, 678 Green Street. $15-$49. www. clubfugazisf.com t

Some characters from the world of ’70s Italian noir come vividly to life. Fellini emerges the brilliant self-caricature he was in life. Maria Callas (“star” of Pasolini’s “Medea”) and Elizabeth Taylor (“The Taming of the Shrew”) make walk-ons (which one imagines both would have found offensive) complaining about costumes. The late Donald Sutherland (star of the creepy Venice movie “Don’t Look Now”) may be glad he’s late, given the portrait of him stepping into the role of Casanova. But the undisputed star of Laing’s novel is Pasolini. The author finds economical ways to signal the important aspects of his career, his staunch antifascist politics, and his love of young men. But Pasolini the man is Laing’s real interest, and she gives us an insight into his strict working methods, his fundamentally gentle character, and the florid-

ity of his homosexuality. His violent but as yet unexplained death, once said to be at the hands of a trick gone wrong, is a matter that Laing explores, turning from the dominant myth to a number of other possible explanations. But his death hits the reader, who from history knows it’s coming, nearly as hard as it does the other characters. Talking with Pasolini, Nico reveals yet more of his London affair, which seems to have ended when, Nico says, “I suggested it would be sensible if he gave me money.” And then he talks himself out of the idea that this action, whatever it was, constituted blackmail. “Alan. He killed himself. I don’t know. I didn’t know he was scared. I just wanted to” –and then Nico can say no more. Alan was a powerful politician, he confides. “I wanted to get away and so I…” and again he can’t go on. “He has already said far more than he meant to,” Laing observes. Publicity materials suggest that Laing wrote the novel in a matter of months, and the prose is swift, precise, and intoxicating. Complex sentences coexist with others so stripped down that they hit their marks decisively. It’s at its most potent when Pasolini is invoked. “So both of us carry a body,” Pasolini says to Nico after they air their respective background stories. “That’s all I wanted to say. I took your story and I didn’t give you one back.” Olivia Laing gives us one back, and then some. t ‘The Silver Book’ by Olivia Laing. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 256 pages, $27, www.fsgbooks.com www.olivialaing.com