March 5, 2026 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

by John Ferrannini

The Health Commission approved $17 million in cuts from funds allocated to community-based organizations that contract with the San Francisco Department of Public Health at its Monday evening meeting. The news came just as it was revealed that Mayor Daniel Lurie is asking DPH for $40 more million in cuts over the next two years.

The commission’s vote was unanimous.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, the $17 million in cuts comes out of the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget, approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and signed by Lurie last July. That budget called for $17 million in cuts from community-based organizations, and in the time between then and now, the department held stakeholder meetings with the community-based organizations to discuss how to achieve that amount, according to a DPH memo.

The memo states, “Although SFDPH’s overall budget has grown by an average of 5.4% annually and has outpaced the city’s General Fund growth, much of that increase has come from Medi-Cal and other restricted funding sources. At the same time, [community-based organizations’] funding in aggregate has grown faster than inflation as the city expanded investments in community-based care.”

Health Director Daniel Tsai told the commission in February that the $17 million has already been taken out of the health department’s budget.

LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS nonprofit organizations affected include the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the San Francisco Community Health Center, and Lyon-Martin Community Health Services.

At the commission’s meeting last month, Drew Murrell, the chief financial officer for DPH, outlined how the department arrived at its list of proposed cuts. Rather than affect direct health and clinical services, the department prioritized capacity building and workforce development programs that are contracted to nonprofits.

The cuts to SFAF would be just over $700,000, supporting two programs. The first program is capacity building at the Rafiki Coalition for Health & Wellness’ Health Access Point, which is part of the city’s HIV, STI, and hepatitis C response. Since 2023, the foundation has partnered with the coalition to build out the health access point so that Black and African American communities are better served. The funding reduction would be $419,000.

The second reduction would be to the clinical assistant program, which trains and employs clinical assistants from communities most affected by HIV, STIs, and hepatitis C through paid internships, clinical experience, and pathways to careers in public health. The program has graduated 39 people since it began in 2023, at a cost of $13,200 per intern, according to the foundation. The funding reduction would be $300,000.

Lyon-Martin Community Health Services would lose its QTAPI Queer Fellowship workforce development program, according to the San Francisco People’s Budget Coalition, a program that has operated for more than two decades. The funding reduction would be 100% of that program’s $128,000 budget.

Dem gov candidates discuss LGBTQ issues at LA forum

by Cynthia Laird

Seven Democratic candidates seeking to succeed California Governor Gavin Newsom said that they stood with the LGBTQ community during a forum Monday evening. One, however, was sharply critical of the state’s chief executive for recent comments he made suggesting Democrats be more “culturally normal.”

The candidates, all straight allies, appeared separately at “Centering Equality: California’s LGBTQ+ Gubernatorial Forum” co-hosted by statewide LGBTQ rights group Equality California and the Los Angeles LGBT center. It was held Monday, March 2, at the center.

Moderators Colleen Williams of KNBC-TV and Dustin Gardner of Politico said at the outset that all the major candidates had been invited. Two Democratic candidates, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former state lawmaker Ian Calderon, as well as Republicans Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco did not appear.

Candidate Tony Thurmond pushed back against the question about Newsom’s desire to see fellow Democrats change the way they talk about LGBTQs. During a recent interview on CNN, Newsom called for his party to be “culturally normal,” and specifically to stop “spending a

disproportionate amount of time on pronouns [and] identity politics.”

“The governor is flat-out wrong,” said Thurmond, currently the elected state superintendent of public instruction. “We don’t need to placate the conservative right.”

Thurmond added that while he agrees with

Newsom on a lot of things, LGBTQ people should “just go ahead and be who you are.”

In response to the same question, candidate Katie Porter said, “I don’t think any leader gets to sit in judgment.” Porter previously represented Orange County in Congress and ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2024.

$300K for HIV-positive seniors not included in SF budget ask

by John Ferrannini

San Francisco AIDS Foundation officials are disappointed that an ask of $300,000 for seniors living with HIV was not included in the Department of Disability and Aging Services’ budget proposal Monday.

The Disability and Aging Services Commission could have included the funds in its budget ask, but, as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, decided not to do so at its February 18 meeting. The commission could have changed its mind by February 23, when the budget proposal was due to Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office, but did not do so.

Jonathan Frochtzwajg, a gay man who is director of health justice policy for SFAF, told the B.A.R. that it’s a sign the city has misplaced priorities.

“We’re disappointed that once again, DAS has failed to prioritize older adults living with HIV,” he stated. “The community of HIV long-term survivors, and people aging with HIV, is rapidly growing in San Francisco – and their health and wellness needs must be considered and addressed. Despite San Francisco’s budget deficit, the city has increased funding for law-enforcement agencies by tens of millions of dollars and made new investments in ineffective, legally risky initiatives like the RESET Center. SFAF will continue to advocate for the city to instead devote resources to the needs of our communities, including our HIV elders.”

The RESET Center, short for Rapid Enforcement, Support, Evaluation, and Triage, was approved by the Board of Supervisors and Lurie signed the legislation February 17. It will allow police to detain people using drugs in public on the basis of public intoxication and hold them until they are sober as an alternative to jail. The sobering center’s goal is to connect people with treatment. SFAF opposes the center, arguing coercive tactics are not drug addiction treatment.

The supervisors approved a $14.5 million pilot contract with ConnectionsCA LLC for the

San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Jonathan Frochtzwajg, who spoke at a recent Disability and Aging Services Commission meeting, was disappointed the commission did not include a $300,000 funding request for seniors living with HIV in its proposed budget sent to Mayor Daniel Lurie.

RESET Center, located at 444 Sixth Street near the Hall of Justice, at their February 10 meeting. Mission Local reported that a confidential memo to the supervisors from the city attorney’s office indicated the center was a “very high legal risk.”

SFAF did not answer a question as to whether it will ask Lurie to add the funding for HIV-positive seniors in his budget proposal or request that the supervisors do so when they review the mayor’s spending plan. Gay Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro as District 8 supervisor, didn’t return a request to comment for this report.

This budget year looks to be particularly challenging as the city faces a $936 million shortfall. Lurie had told the B.A.R. in December he was asking for $400 million in spending cuts from city departments, and said he will deliver a “responsible budget that prioritizes core services.”

A spokesperson for the San Francisco Human Services Agency cited the lack of funds to work with as the reason in a statement to the B.A.R. late Wednesday.

“The City and County of San Francisco is facing challenging times with a growing budget deficit in the coming years, and it is making difficult decisions on budget reductions across city departments,” the spokesperson stated. “There are no easy solutions – only tough conversations. Not one department is spared from these considerations – including the San Francisco Human Services Agency (SFHSA) and the Department of Disability and Aging Services (DAS).”

The spokesperson continued that the agency needed more time to identify further reductions it could make.

“SFHSA received our budget reduction target from the mayor’s office in late January 2026. Although we submitted our proposed budget to the Mayor’s Budget Office on Monday, we will need additional time to identify viable options to meet the mayor’s budget reduction target of $10.5 million in reductions across the agency, including DAS and the Department of Benefits and Family Support,” the spokesperson continued. “Note that it is early in the budget process and there may be further reductions as well. As a result, there has been no additional funding specifically allocated in the latest DAS budget proposal. We will continue to work with the Mayor’s Budget Office over the next few months to finalize SFHSA’s budget and to continue providing essential services to San Franciscans.”

District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, a straight ally who is budget chair and is running for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), previously stated to the B.A.R., “We are evaluating the city’s six-month financial report, and we will have the joint report soon so we can have a clear picture of the city’s finances. But no matter what, I am committed as always to fight for funding for our most vulnerable and that includes our seniors living with HIV and AIDS.”

<< Community News

New bar planned for the Castro

by John Ferrannini

The owner of the popular new restaurant and bar in San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro neighborhood is launching another business in the vacated Eureka Restaurant and Lounge space on 18th Street. The owner of Bar 49 on Market Street announced the news Friday and hopes to open later this year.

Colm O’Brien, a gay man and Lookout alum, opened Bar 49 at 2295 Market Street to great acclaim in 2024. Now, he will be opening NOVA at 4063 18th Street, where Eureka Lounge shuttered in 2019, he told the Bay Area Reporter.

“I love this neighborhood. Castro welcomed me with open arms over a decade ago when I moved from Ireland,” stated O’Brien. “It’s a home away from home. Castro embraced me as a young bartender when I started out over a decade ago and it still does today.

“For the last two years, Bar 49’s customers and staff have become family and I am humbled by their support,” he added.

O’Brien said NOVA will have two full bars, an outdoor patio, and a kitchen. A menu will be announced in the coming months, and he invites people to follow @NOVABar_SF on Instagram.

Renovations will be required to bring the building to code, according to a news release that added, “Scaffolding is expected to be up in the coming weeks, with construction anticipated to take approximately six months. The goal is to open early this coming fall.”

O’Brien did not disclose the amount of rent he will pay as per the lease.

He did state that the new business will be a “cocktail-forward setting,” in homage to the original Eureka Lounge, which had been open for 12 years before closing, SFist reported at the time. The two-level restaurant was opened in 2007 by chef Gaines Dobbins — a longtime protégé of Boulevard chef Nancy Oakes — with a focus on upscale Southern cuisine. The restaurant and bar were a comfort-food staple, and a mainstay of the Castro cocktail scene. https://sfist.com/2019/07/15/ eureka-restaurant-closes-in-the-castro-after-12-years/

More recently, Lobby Bar, at 4230 18th Street, and Copper, at 4092 18th Street, offer craft cocktails.

“I feel the weight of honoring Eureka’s past while creating NOVA’s future,” O’Brien stated. “It’s a privilege to breathe life back into places that hold so many memories. Like Bar 49, my team and I are going to pour ourselves

into this space to create something unique for the neighborhood.”

NOVA was so named after the cosmic phenomenon. A nova is an

outburst in a binary system, or system with two stars that closely orbit one another, according to NASA’s website.

O’Brien sees it as part of a neighborhood on the rise coinciding with the reopening of the Castro Theatre earlier this month.

Nate Bourg, a gay man who is president of the Castro Merchants Association, is pleased with the development.

“Hooray for more good news,” he stated. “I’m so excited to see Colm and his team bringing this iconic Castro space back to life. It’s been one of the neighborhood’s most talked-about vacancies, especially for those of us who remember how special the old Eureka Lounge was. I can’t wait to see that spirit reimagined with a fresh, unique vibe. There’s no doubt it will be a fantastic addition to the district.”

Andrea Aiello, a lesbian who is the head of the Castro Community Benefit District, stated to the B.A.R., “This is fantastic news! Colm has proven he can bring iconic empty spaces back to life with Bar 49; I’m confident he can do the same with Eureka Lounge.

“Eighteenth Street has slowly been bringing vibrancy back to the Castro; the remaining long-term vacancy at Eureka Lounge was a holdout we were all concerned about,” she added. “I am just very excited for this and can’t wait until it opens.” t

LGBTQ series launched with Peaches Christ

compiled by Cynthia Laird

Commonwealth Club World Affairs will launch its 2026 LGBTQ+ cultural series with “Peaches

Christ: Eat the Rich,” Friday, March 13, at 6 p.m. at 110 The Embarcadero in San Francisco. Peaches will fuse drag, punk rock, political theater, and a serious question, “Should billionaires even exist?” a news release stated.

The phrase “eat the rich – attributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau during the French Revolution – has exploded across Gen Z and millennial consciousness through films like “Parasite,” “The Menu,” and “Glass Onion,” the resurgence of democratic socialism, and viral moments like Amazon union leader Christian Smalls wearing the slogan to the White House, the release noted. Motörhead’s anthem of the same name – which Peaches has performed live – provides the evening’s sonic backbone.

When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich,” stated Chris Knight, creative director and co-producer of the series, quoting Rous seau. “That’s not a slogan. It’s a forecast. On Friday the 13th, we’re putting a drag queen, a centimillionaire running for Congress, a children’s book author who writes about werewolves who devour predatory men, and other provocative voices on the same stage – and asking them all the same question: ‘Who’s really eating whom?’”

the release noted. Chakrabarti is running for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) against gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, and fintech executive Dan Wheeler.

Peaches, the drag persona of Joshua Grannell, will perform an original punk rock meets slam poetry monologue, on the evening’s theme.

Maggie Tokuda-Hall, the bestselling children’s author and president of Authors Against Book Bans, will join Peaches and other guests for a panel moderated by lesbian Bay Area broadcast journalist Michelle Meow.

The evening closes with a rooftop after-party overlooking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

The release noted that the event is the first of four to run through June.

The series transforms the Commonwealth Club’s headquarters into a year-round LGBTQ+ cultural anchor, not just a Pride Month afterthought, the release stated. All events will be livestreamed on the club’s YouTube channel. The three co-producers, Knight, Dulay, and Meow, bring decades of combined experience in LGBTQ media, advocacy, and community organizing, according to the release.

Tickets are $25, or $10 for livestream, and are available at https:// tinyurl.com/4ux8nssp.

fundamental human rights. The free Zoom event takes place Thursday, March 12, from 5 to 6 p.m. Pacific time.

A warm-up conversation will feature Saikat Chakrabarti, a tech millionaire and former chief of staff to Congressmember Alexandria OcasioCortez (D-New York), talking with series co-producer Celso Dulay II,

Horizons forum explores Christian nationalist agenda

Horizons Foundation will host an online forum about a new report from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, or GPAHE, that looks at Project 2025’s efforts to dismantle

Law Office of Shelley S. Feinberg

An email announcement from Horizons, a San Francisco-based LGBTQ philanthropic foundation, noted that GPAHE plans to issue its report the same day. It identifies key players and traces Project 2025’s exportation of a far-right, Christian nationalist agenda worldwide, the announcement noted. The report was made possible through a grant from Horizons’ Global Faith and Equality Fund, the announcement stated.

Appearing on the program will be Wendy Vie, GPAHE’s co-founder and president, and Heidi Beirich, Ph.D., the organization’s other co-founder and chief strategy officer. They will be in conversation with Francisco Buchting, Ph.D., Horizons vice president of grants, programs, and communications.

There will be time for audience feedback, and attendees are asked to come prepared with questions for the panelists.

To register, go to https://tinyurl. com/8fnabdwh.

Leather district town hall

The San Francisco Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District will hold a town hall Sunday, March 15, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Folsom Street Community Center, 1286 Folsom Street.

According to the district’s newsletter, topics will include a review of district accomplishments, a listening session to hear from district residents about their priorities in a time of reduced budgets, and what people would like to see the district’s safety committee address.

The event is free. The town hall will be facilitated by Jayme Roderick.

For more information, visit the district’s website at sfleatherdistrict.org.

An additional meeting is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, from 1 to 3 p.m.

BART announces Bach in the Subways

Regional transportation agency

BART has announced musicians can register to participate in Bach in the Subways, a global celebration of composer Johann Sebastian Bach and his music. The program takes place from March 21-31, ending on the 341st anniversary of Bach’s birth in 1685.

Bach in the Subways started organically in 2010 by New York City-based musician Dale Henderson and has grown into an international event that invites musicians to play Bach in public spaces, a news release stated.

Locally, musicians interested in participating at BART stations can register as a solo artist or with a group. The release noted that playing Bach isn’t a requirement, but it is recommended.

All performances will take place in non-paid areas of BART stations, the release stated. Musicians are asked not to affix signs on the walls and cannot use amplified music. The program also requires that musicians neither solicit tips nor accept any money as it’s meant to be a shared gift of musical joy, the release noted.

For more on the requirements, guidelines, and to apply, go to https:// tinyurl.com/ymjwd8na.

People also need to fill out an Expressive Activity Permit, which can be done at https://tinyurl.com/34wv2jau.

Peaches Christ headlines the Commonwealth Club World Affairs’ first program of its 2026 LGBTQ+ cultural series. Photo: Courtesy Peaches Christ. t

Community News>>

Defendant in Castro beating admitted to mental health court

by John Ferrannini

The defendant accused of a brutal beating outside the Castro Theatre a year ago is currently in mental health diversion court.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Victor Barrios is charged with felony assault. The alleged beating of Tony, whose last name was unavailable, then a Mix doorman, outside the iconic theater March 9, 2025 shocked the community, and was one of several incidents that led San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and former Police Chief William Scott to beef up SFPD presence in the longtime LGBTQ neighborhood.

Barrios, 34, posted bail shortly after his arrest.

In January, Barrios was admitted to mental health diversion over the objections of San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, according to a Jenkins spokesperson.

“We objected to his placement in MHD [mental health diversion] on the record in court, as we did not believe that MHD would protect the safety of the public or hold the offender accountable for his crimes that have had a lasting impact on the victim and the community,” the spokesperson continued. “Mr. Barrios’ next court date is April 3, 2026, for [Adult Probation Department] to submit a report that he does not possess any firearms.”

As the B.A.R. last reported, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Patrick Thompson delayed a preliminary hearing and set July 23, 2025 as the date to decide whether Barrios was eligible to be considered for mental health diversion.

On that date, the decision was punted due to Barrios’ attorney Aaron Pressman being absent due to a jury trial.

Pressman, who works for the San Francisco Public Defender’s office, told the B.A.R. March 4, “Victor Barrios has shown that he is exceptionally motivated to change his life.”

“On November 30, 2025, he selfenrolled into a residential treatment program for drug and alcohol addiction,” Pressman continued. “He had not been ordered by any court to do so. His successful completion of that program contributed to his acceptance into Drug Court, where he is grateful for the opportunity to get further support to continue working towards his sobriety.

1

by John Ferrannini

A51-year-old man is being held on a $100,000 bond in jail after being arrested on suspicion of homophobic and antisemitic vandalism at a local church, according to San Francisco police.

A court date was not yet set by press time March 4 for Sadat Mousa, who was arrested Saturday, February 28. The district attorney’s office stated March 4 it would be announced at a noontime news conference.

The alleged graffiti, including swastikas, was at the site of a Seventh-day Adventist Church on the 2800 block of California Street in Pacific Heights, according to police.

The damage is estimated at $20,000.

“On Saturday, Feb. 28, at approximately 8:45 a.m., SFPD officers responded to a report of antisemitic and homophobic graffiti on a church on the 2800 block of California Street,” a San Francisco Police Department news release stated. “Officers arrived on scene and found the church buildings and city utilities graffitied in fresh paint with swastikas and other antisemitic and homophobic words.”

Mousa’s charges include felony vandalism with a hate crime enhancement, according to police.

“This kind of hateful act will never be tolerated in our city,” stated SFPD Chief Derrick Lew. “We will do everything in our power to protect our communities and ensure justice is served in this case.

Mr. Barrios continued his treatment through a Partial Hospitalization Program, which he completed on February 13, 2026. He will now continue with outpatient treatment. Last Saturday, Mr. Barrios celebrated 90 days clean and sober. During those 90 days, he attended 90 [Alcoholics Anonymous] meetings in addition to his other treatment.”

According to a city official, parts of the mental health court proceedings are shielded by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which protects sensitive patient information. This means the proceedings would not be as accessible to members of the public or news reporters as regular criminal proceedings. At some hearings, such as the one scheduled at which evidence Barrios does not possess a firearm is supposed to be submitted, the defendant may not have to appear at all.

According to San Francisco police, the alleged attack was unprovoked. KGOTV broadcast a video March 12, 2025 on its air of the incident that was taken by a bystander and shared with the local ABC affiliate. An unnamed eyewitness said, “I saw someone being brutally assaulted, kicked, punched; it was like the tail end of the assault, blood everywhere.”

The local television station’s report also did not name the victim, or his partner. The partner told KGO’s JR Stone that Tony needed to see an eye and ear specialist going forward after suffering multiple skull fractures. (The victim’s first name was publicized through an online fundraiser.)

The victim had reportedly bounced three people out of the bar earlier that day, one of whom lost teeth after biting the bar employee’s finger, the partner said.

“This unprovoked act of violence left him with severe injuries, including several skull fractures, requiring immediate hospitalization, emergency medical care, and ongoing treatment from specialists,” stated a GoFundMe for the victim. “Tony is a kind and caring person who did not deserve this horrific attack. As he navigates this painful and uncertain time, we want to rally around him and ensure that he doesn’t have to bear this financial hardship alone.” (The fundraiser is no longer accepting donations.)

The theater was closed for an extensive renovation and restoration project at the time of the alleged incident. It reopened last month. t

I want to thank our officers who acted swiftly to make an arrest in this case.”

The Seventh-day Adventist denomination generally holds conservative views regarding LGBTQ issues. According to the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ rights organization, the church condemns same-sex relationships and practices. It does not ordain openly LGBTQ clergy.

The San Francisco Central Seventhday Adventist Church, located at 2889 California Street, didn’t return a request to comment by press time.

It could not be immediately determined if Mousa has an attorney.

While an arrest has been made, this remains an open and active investigation, police said. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at 1-415-575-4444 or Text-A-Tip to TIP411 and begin your message with ‘SFPD. t

Dr. Larry Price, MD, Enters Hospice Care

Dr. Larry Price has entered home hospice following a long and courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease.

For more than 30 years, Larry served our community as a devoted physician whose compassion, courage, and tireless dedication shaped the lives of countless patients and medical students. During the most difficult years of the AIDS epidemic, he routinely worked 12 to 14 hour days caring for patients suffering horrendous illness while facing profound uncertainty, loss and societal rejection. He brought not only deep medical expertise, but also hope, steadiness, and humanity when they were needed most.

As Larry enters the final chapter of his life, it would mean a great deal to him to hear from those whose lives he touched. If you were once his patient, colleague, student, or friend, a brief note would be a profound gift. You might share how you are doing now, reflect on what his care meant to you, express your gratitude, or recall a fond memory from your time together.

Mail may be sent to:

Dr. Larry Price 2360 Mendocino Avenue, #2A-314 Santa Rosa, CA 95403

Your words will serve as a powerful reminder of the legacy he leaves behind and the many lives he has touched.

Volume 56, Number 10

Volume 56, Number XX

March 5-11, 2026

Month XX-XX, 2026 www.ebar.com

PUBLISHER

Michael M. Yamashita

Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013)

Publisher (2003 – 2013)

Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003)

NEWS EDITOR

Cynthia Laird

ARTS & NIGHTLIFE EDITOR

Jim Provenzano

ASSISTANT EDITORS

Matthew S. Bajko • John Ferrannini

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Kyle Amato • Race Bannon • Robert Brokl

Christopher J. Beale • Robert Brokl

Christopher J. Beale • Brian Bromberger

Brian Bromberger • Philip Campbell

Heather Cassell • Eliot Faine

Philip Campbell • Myron Caringal

Heather Cassell • Meg Collins • Chelsea Davis

Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone

Natasha Dennerstein • Eliot Faine

Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell • Lisa Keen

Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone

Philip Mayard • Laura Moreno

David-Elijah Nahmod • Mark William Norby

Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell

JL Odom • Paul Parish • Tim Pfaff

Michele Karlsberg • Lisa Keen

Jim Piechota • Adam Sandel

Matthew Kennedy • Philip Mayard

Jim McDermott • Laura Moreno

Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro

Gwendolyn Smith • Charlie Wagner

David-Elijah Nahmod • Mark William

Norby JL Odom • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota

Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington • Sura Wood

Joshua Polanski • Adam Sandel

Gregg Shapiro • Gwendolyn Smith

ART DIRECTION

Charlie Wagner • Ed Walsh

Max Leger

Cornelius Washington • Evelyn C. White

PRODUCTION/DESIGN

Ernesto Sopprani

ART DIRECTION

Max Leger

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jane Philomen Cleland

PRODUCTION/DESIGN

Rick Gerharter • Gooch

Ernesto Sopprani

Jose A. Guzman-Colon

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Georg Lester

Jane Philomen Cleland

Rich Stadtmiller • Christopher Robledo

Rick Gerharter • Gooch

Fred Rowe • Shot in the City

Jose A. Guzman-Colon

Steven Underhill • Bill Wilson

Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Georg Lester

ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS

Rich Stadtmiller • Christopher Robledo

Christine Smith

Fred Rowe • Shot in the City

Steven Underhill • Bill Wilson

ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS

Christine Smith

VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING

Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937

VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING

Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

LEGAL COUNSEL

Paul H. Melbostad, Esq.

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

LEGAL COUNSEL

Headline

EEOC’s anti-trans move hurts workers

The Trump administration has found yet another cruel way to hurt transgender people who work for the federal government. This time, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reversed a landmark decision in the 2015 transgender rights case, Lusardi v. Department of the Army. It held that prohibiting a transgender employee from using the restroom consistent with their gender identity is unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The commission also held that intentional, repeated misgendering of transgender employees is unlawful sex discrimination.

Last week, the EEOC issued a federal sector appellate decision that overturned the portion of Lusardi dealing with transgender federal employees’ access to restrooms at work. The Congressional Equality Caucus pointed out that, specifically, the decision permits a federal agency employer to exclude transgender employees from bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The decision also states that transgender men are not men and transgender women are not women, stating that a “man who identifies as a ‘transwoman’ is still a man; a woman who identifies as a ‘transman’ is still a woman.”

Importantly, the decision does not apply to private employers, nor does it bind any federal court. However, the damage has been done in the federal workplace and that is wrong.

“The EEOC was created with the explicit mission of protecting American workers from discrimination – but under [President Donald] Trump and Chair Andrea Lucas, the commission has abandoned its duty in order to push Trump’s radical, anti-equality, and anti-worker agenda,” stated gay Congressmember Mark Takano (DCalifornia), chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus.

Takano noted that the U.S. Supreme Court made clear in its 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision that transgender workers are protected from discrimination. “The EEOC cannot undo those protections,” Takano added.

The decision is only the latest in a string of harmful actions taken by Trump and the EEOC dating to January 2025 when Trump began his second term. According to the caucus’ news release, these include:

• Trump signing an Executive Order that instructed federal agencies to implement bans on transgender people using bathrooms and other intimate spaces that align with their gender identity (January 20, 2025)

Creating

by Nikki Mammano

• Trump rescinding the Executive Order that created the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which was critical to ensuring federal contractors not reached by Title VII were not illegally discriminating (January 21, 2025)

• Office of Personnel Management directing federal agencies to ban transgender people from using restrooms and single-sex facilities that align with their gender identity (January 29, 2025)

• EEOC instructing EEOC staff not to process transgender workers’ complaints alleging gender identity-based discrimination (February 6, 2025)

• EEOC filing motions to dismiss cases with prejudice – meaning they can’t be refiled – that the commission had previously brought against businesses accused of discriminating against employees based on their gender identity (February 14, 2025)

• EEOC instructing EEOC staff to classify transgender workers’ complaints alleging gender identity-based discrimination at the lowest level of categorization, typically reserved for “meritless charges.” (April 18, 2025)

• EEOC informing state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) that handling of gender identity-based discrimination cases will not qualify for financial support from the federal government (May 20, 2025)

• EEOC rescinding workplace harassment guidance that, among other provisions, highlighted examples of unlawful harassment against transgender, as well as other, workers (January 23, 2026)

This is a deeply troubling pattern, but one that doesn’t surprise us. It demonstrates Trump’s animus toward the transgender community. His hostility, which has flowed directly to members of his

administration, seeks to prevent trans people from participating in daily life. And it’s not limited to the federal government. As Transmissions columnist Gwen Smith writes this week, it is now illegal for trans Kansas residents to possess a driver’s license that matches their gender identity. Officials have been sending them letters, ordering them to surrender their licenses, which, as we all know, are a valid form of identification and used for a lot more than operating a motor vehicle. It’s possible, Smith writes, that federal lawmakers will attempt to pass similar legislation that would affect all 50 states. https://www.ebar.com/story/163798/News/ Transmissions%3A%20Gut%20and%20go

Back at the U.S. Capitol, Takano noted that the equality caucus is trying to fight back, though it is difficult with Democrats in the minority in the House and U.S. Senate. Caucus leadership has demanded that the personnel office cease implementation of Trump’s executive order regarding use of restrooms in federal agencies. And it has demanded that the EEOC resume processing claims alleging gender-based discrimination.

The Trump administration regularly works to see how far it can go in demonizing trans people, whether it be at work in the federal government, or using a restroom, or both. Even as we’ve seen a few Republican lawmakers start to push back – a little – on some of the president’s most outlandish ideas, they are still cowards who fear the president will find a more MAGA-friendly candidate to challenge them come election time. Congress has lots of power as a co-equal branch of government, but these days the Republicans in charge tremble at the thought of using it. As a result, LGBTQ people are stuck with discriminatory policies, name-calling, misgendering, and a whole host of terrible attacks that are often amplified on social media by homophobes and transphobes.

The EEOC should rescind its stupid reversal of a precedent that sought to protect trans federal workers. But we aren’t holding our breath. Just last month, Lucas issued a letter to leaders of 500 companies telling them to reject diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. “I urge Corporate America to reject identity politics as its solution to society’s ills,” Lucas writes. “The only lawful way to stop discrimination on the basis of race or sex, is to stop discriminating on the basis of race or sex.”

Last week during his State of the Union, Trump crowed, “We ended DEI in America.” That may be true, but it’s nothing to celebrate. In fact, the absence of such policies just make life in the U.S. tougher for everyone. t

Bay area reporter

44 Gough Street, Suite 302 San Francisco, CA 94103

415.861.5019 • www.ebar.com

Paul H. Melbostad, Esq. Bay area

A division of BAR Media, Inc. © 2026

President: Michael M. Yamashita

Director: Scott Wazlowski

News Editor • news@ebar.com

Arts Editor • arts@ebar.com

The human mind is a truly amazing thing, more resilient than I think we give it credit for. Do something long enough and it just becomes your routine. For me, over the past several months, sleeping with a gun under my pillow and a woman beside me was just my new normal. Having Bella around full-time was new to me in a lot of ways. I’d never cohabitated with someone I was romantically involved with, much less a woman I was involved with, but there I was, waking up every day next to my live-in girlfriend.

The situation with Keilani and the strong-arms had cooled down, but dropping my guard was what had gotten me into hot water in the first place, so I always kept my back to the wall and an eye on the door. That was just how I operated now. It wasn’t so bad.

ache with longing for my family or my old life. The new life I’d created was as complete and real to me as anything ever had been.

she’d grown a thick skin, it wasn’t bulletproof. Even dyke, spoken by Roxy with the deepest affection, still pierced my armor a bit, and that term was far newer to me than māhū was to her.

I looped my arm around the crook of her elbow and leaned my head on her shoulder as we walked on. I didn’t have a trace of shared blood anywhere on the island, but I wasn’t without family, and you take care of your own.

Having my found family was all well and good, but I couldn’t help wondering about the one I’d left behind. I didn’t know where I’d even begin, what I would possibly say if I did reach out, but it kept nagging at me, so one day I picked up the phone and dialed my parents’ house.

My trance was broken as a sour-faced passerby shoulder-checked Roxy.

Out & About listings • jim@ebar.com

Michael M. Yamashita Director: Scott Wazlowski

Advertising • scott@ebar.com

Letters • letters@ebar.com

Published weekly. Bay Area Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement which the publisher believes is in poor taste or which advertises illegal items which might result in legal action against Bay Area Reporter. Ads will not be rejected solely on the basis of politics, philosophy, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation.

Advertising rates available upon request. Our list of subscribers and advertisers is confidential and is not sold. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, and writers published herein is neither inferred nor implied. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

“So, how is living in sin with Miss Bella going?” Roxy asked me one morning as she slapped the night’s profits down into my hand. The street would be coming to life with commuters any minute now, and Jeremiah was half a block down, sliding his back up and down a Walk/Don’t Walk sign to the catcalls and applause of half a dozen club kids.

“It’s good. It’s...comfortable.”

Roxy mimed wiping a tear. “Aww, my little baby dyke’s growing up.”

“Come on, Ma,” I groaned, smiling as she swept a lock of hair back behind my ear. It had started as a joke, but the truth was that over the past year, it had been Roxy I always seemed to turn to for guidance and comfort, even an education in certain areas. If that doesn’t make a mom, what does?

We strolled down the sidewalk, wrangling Jeremiah and the others as we passed them. It occurred to me that I’d been under complete radio silence with my family for the better part of a year.

Everything before Hawaii seemed like some kind of dream or parallel universe that faded into memory a little bit each day. But I wasn’t homesick. I didn’t

“Māhū,” he muttered without looking back.

“The fuck is your problem, asshole?” I called over my shoulder. He didn’t even slow down. “Fuck you!” I turned to Roxy to ask her if she could believe that guy’s attitude but paused at the look on her face. She didn’t look scared or hurt, just tired. Worn down. I’d heard the term before, but I’d never seen its effect.

Pre-colonization, the māhū were Hawaii’s third gender and played a role in traditional Hawaiian society as teachers and healers, taking the female role in religious ceremonies in spaces off-limits to women. Post-colonization, however, the term had been twisted into a slur hurled at gender-nonconforming men and trans women.

The conflation of drag queens and trans women was very much a product of the time. If the vocabulary that we have now had been more commonplace, Roxy probably would have identified as a trans woman, but she called herself a drag queen, so we followed her lead. In any event, she most definitely checked the māhū box, and while

When my mom answered, I froze. Would I get a tearful reception? A harsh tongue-lashing? A guilt trip? I wasn’t really prepared for any of those options, so I hung up and tried again the next day with the same degree of success. I called a few times, getting either my mom or my stepdad, neither of whom I was eager to speak with. Then, on the fifth or sixth try…

“Yello?” I didn’t recognize the voice. It wasn’t deep enough to be my stepdad’s but definitely male. Oh... damn.... How long had it been since my kid brother and I had spoken? Long enough for his voice to drop an octave, apparently.

“Mike?”

There was long pause, and then? “Nikki? Holy shit! What – where have you been? Are you okay?”

“Relax, dude. I’m fine.” It was the kindest lie I could tell in the moment. t

Nikki Mammano, a lesbian, grew up in the greater New York metro area and spent her early 20s in Hawaii before moving back to the Northeast, earning her BA in communications from Ramapo College, and settling in Montclair, New Jersey, to raise her two daughters. She has written a memoir, “Breaking Good,” (Regalo Press) being published in March from which this is excerpted. Excerpt used with permission. For more information, go to nikkimammano.com.

Milk LGBTQ Dem club prepares to mark 50 years

by Matthew S. Bajko

G wenn Craig to this day fondly remembers the first big fundraiser dinner the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club held in 1980. Taking place May 21 on the eve of the 50th birthday of the progressive political group’s namesake, activists Jane Fonda, her then-husband Tom Hayden, and Cesar Chavez addressed the attendees who had assembled inside the Hall of Flowers at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park.

“We were really excited to be able to put on this grand event and have all the city’s luminaries show up. Everything just worked out beautifully,” recalled Craig, 74, a lesbian who would be elected the club’s first female and Black president the following year. “Tom and Jane gave powerful speeches. Cesar Chavez was as eloquent as had been promised, and we were so moved by what he had to say and by his presence. It was a wonderful, wonderful evening; one I have never forgotten.”

Now Craig is helping to plan the club’s 50th anniversary party being held Friday, May 22, on Harvey Milk Day when the late gay leader and San Francisco supervisor would have turned 96. The club named itself in Milk’s honor after he was assassinated along with thenmayor George Moscone in 1978.

“A lot of accounts call (Milk) one of the club’s founders. The actual club founders used to chafe a little bit at that,” said Craig, who joined the club a year after its launch in 1976. “He wasn’t exactly a founder but definitely one of the people who would come around, whisper some words of advice, cajole things he thought the club could be doing or should be doing.”

paigned on behalf of progressive causes and candidates. It became “a place for people to be political, left, and queer. It is also a club founded to keep the LGBTQ community free of anointed gatekeepers and machine politics,” touts the club about its history.

One of those candidates it championed was Tom Ammiano, a gay teacher elected to the city’s school board in 1990 who went on to serve as a city supervisor and state assemblymember. He was an early member of the club and told the B.A.R. he is “so proud of” it and what it has achieved over the years.

those who secured support of the Milk club in their races. Now a vice chair of the California Democratic Party and a county executive in Santa Clara County, Campos credited the Milk club for continuing its namesake’s role of being “kind of the con scious of San Francisco politics.”

“I remember its origins. It started with why can’t there be a club with gay and lesbian in their title?

Through the years, I think, the club’s personally proven its worth to the community and really gay liberation as a whole,” said Ammiano.

Many did have strong ties to Milk. As the Bay Area Reporter noted in its obit for the late Terry Henderling, who had worked on Milk’s winning 1977 supervisorial campaign and then in his City Hall office as a community adviser, he was among those in attendance at a now “famous meeting in Yosemite” where the club’s origin story begins. At it, Chris Perry, who would become the club’s first president, brought up the idea of forming a Democratic club that didn’t shy away from its ties to the LGBTQ community.

Thus, the San Francisco Gay Democratic Club became “the city’s first Democratic club with the word ‘gay’ in its name, a controversial and radical move at the time,” as the club notes on its website.

From the get-go it was grounded in leftist political organizing within the Democratic Party and cam-

It also suffered incredible loss due to the AIDS epidemic, noted Ammiano, seeing scores of its members die in the 1980s to the then-mysterious disease. But it also witnessed the community’s resilience, he added, with many of the club’s lesbian members stepping up to care for the men dying from the illness.

“I think it is important to honor all those people no longer with us, and also the people who reached out rather than ran away,” said Ammiano, 84, about seeing the Milk club reach its milestone year.

Influential club

On a personal note, Ammiano recalled when he was teaching and invited the then-superintendent of the city’s school district, the late Robert F. Alioto, to address the Milk club. He faced tough questions at the meeting, recalled Ammiano, from how he would make schools safer for LGBTQ students to if he would even say the words “gay” or “lesbian.” (Alioto, no relation to former San Francisco Mayor Joseph L. Alioto, led the city’s schools from 1975 until 1985 and was killed in 1988 at the age of 54 when his Porsche smashed into the rear of a tractor-trailer on U.S. 101 near Morgan Hill.)

“I remember him holding his own,” recalled Ammiano. “The club members, I think, were impressed he came.” It was just one example of how influential the Milk club had become. Another was in how coveted its backing was by candidates for elected office, noted Ammiano.

“Its endorsement became sought after,” he said. “In that way the club members could define what their values were. If someone did get the endorsement, they were expected to fulfill those values. So a lot of times that did happen.”

Gay former San Francisco supervisor David Campos, 55, was among

“It always is pushing the envelope to help the neediest members of our society,” said Campos. “In that re spect, Harvey Milk and his legacy is still very much alive, you know. You see that legacy even more relevant today when you see the gestapo tac tics of our federal government.”

Since joining the Milk club in 1984, gay Haight Ashbury resident Tab Buckner 50 campaigns the group was involved with, from ballot measures to candi dates. A former club board member who one year served as its recording secretary, Buckner told the B.A.R. he is most proud of how consistent the Milk club has been in its politics and how it’s often led on issues.

“Any organization will have bumps in the road, but I feel it has been a pretty consistent force as far as pushing the envelope to show courage and to speak out when there is injustice of any sort,” said Buckner, 70, a retired college adviser. “Some times we are way ahead of other parts of the so-called political left. In 1988, we were the only club other than the Arab American Democrat ic Club to support Prop W, a local unfortunately failed ordinance to put the city on record that we sup port a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine.”

Over the years it’s also been nice to see the membership diversify and continue to attract younger mem bers within the Democratic Party, said Buckner. It is partly why he has remained active with the Milk club all these years.

“A part of why I stayed is I can help provide a spread of history, which the younger folks always seem interested in hearing about, and I always learn from them,” said Buckner. “I feel it is important to have a sense of continuity.”

He initially had moved to California to work in the Los Angeles office of the Campaign for Economic Democracy that Hayden, who died in 2016, and Fonda had co-founded. Buckner was a field director for it and had come up to San Francisco City Hall in 1984 to support the local rent control measure the late gay supervisor Harry Britt had authored. Britt had been named to fill the vacancy on the Board of Supervisors created by Milk’s death.

A colleague suggested he check out a Milk club meeting and remembers it being “electric” due to the members cheering Britt, the second person to lead it as president in 1978, for getting his rent control measure enacted. (Britt died in June 2020 at the age of 82.)

Joshua Robison, husband and strategist behind MTT, dies

by Cynthia Laird

Joshua Robison, a gay man who was a guiding force behind his husband, San Francisco Symphony Music Director Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas, died February 22 at his home in the city. He was 79.

Mr. Robison passed away in his sleep, according to friends and family.

Mr. Robison had been recovering from a bad fall he had last August, his friends and family told the Bay Area Reporter. He was known for his steady hand in guiding Tilson Thomas’ career as well as a strategist who helped Tilson Thomas reach the pinnacle of professional success. In the process, Mr. Robison’s own love of people and musical knowledge helped the San Francisco Symphony become world renowned under Tilson Thomas’ 25year tenure.

Following Tilson Thomas’ 2021 diagnosis with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain tumor, Mr. Robison dedicated himself to preserving the music director laureate’s legacy, gay former city supervisor and state legislator Mark Leno told the B.A.R.

“It was a rare and true partnership,” Leno said in a phone interview. “They were a team.”

Mr. Robison and Tilson Thomas had known each other since they were children in in the orchestra of North Hollywood Junior High School (now Walter Reed Middle School), an obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle noted.

The two went their separate ways but both found themselves in New York City when they were in their 20s.

Mr. Robison’s sister, Paula Robison, herself an accomplished flutist, helped bring the men together in New York City following a concert at Lincoln Center.

“They hadn’t seen each other in a while,” Paula Robison, a straight ally, told the B.A.R. in a phone interview. “When he and Michael were reunited, I was playing at Lincoln Center. I’ll never forget that look in Michael’s eyes when he saw Joshua at Lincoln Center.”

Thus began a long professional and personal partnership that spanned more than four decades. Leno officiated at Mr. Robison and Tilson Thomas’ wedding in 2014.

“Joshua was an endlessly generous and caring man of many talents,” Leno said. “He was a champion athlete, talented dancer, a creator and prodigious producer, devoted husband, and treasured friend. In short, a true mensch.”

Leno had known the couple for 50 years, since meeting Tilson Thomas in New York City in 1974. “A couple of years later, Joshua appeared,” he said.

Paula Robison, 84, said that while in New York, Mr. Robison graduated from Columbia’s teachers school and took a job teaching at the Bank Street School for Children, a private, independent facility that educates the whole child, according to its website. https://school.bankstreet.edu/

“He was a wonderful teacher,” said Paula Robison, who now lives in Boston, where she occupies the Donna

<< Political Notebook

From page 5

“To see one of our own queer elected people achieve that and be an ex-president of club was really great and so exciting,” said Buckner. Just how the Milk club will celebrate its past and future at its 50th Anniversary Gayla titled “Unstoppable” is still being worked out. It is extending an invite to Fonda to attend and potentially keynote again. (Her speech at the 1980 event can be heard online as part of an episode of the podcast “Queer Serial: American LGBTQ+ History.”)

Hieken Flute Chair at New England Conservatory, according to her website. https://www.paularobison.com/ “His teaching was colorful; I played the flute there one time.”

Paula Robison also noted Mr. Robison’s gifts.

“I think Josh knew Michael’s genius and I think Josh knew Michael’s prickly side in normal life,” she said. “I think Josh sensed immediately that he could be helpful – besides being madly in love with him.”

“All of Josh’s gifts – people power, love of dancing – were put to use together,” Paula Robison added. “He was listening to Michael’s dreams and made them reality.”

Mr. Robison’s other sister, Deborah Robison, 82, lives in Berkeley. Also a straight ally, she told the B.A.R. in a phone interview that her brother was always able to connect with younger and older generations alike.

“He was full of energy and loved people,” she said.

Asked about Mr. Robison’s biggest impact on Tilson Thomas, she said, “I think he was the strategist, the gatekeeper. He paved the way for Michael. Josh knew and loved music really, really well.”

“Michael was a wonderful composer and Joshua put the songs together and published them. He made a wonderful collection,” she said.

Mr. Robison was a champion gymnast, winning a national collegiate championship on the rings, said Deborah Robison.

Leno recalled when the San Francisco Symphony canceled shows in North Carolina in 2017 over an antitrans bathroom bill that required people to use the facilities that corresponded to their sex assigned at birth.

Mr. Robison and Tilson Thomas instead decided to have the symphony do a Pride concert in San Francisco that year. The symphony board was in support of the plan, as long as the funds could be raised. Mr. Robison and Leno were both accomplished fundraisers.

“I had lunch with Tom Horn at the Hayes Street Grill and asked for the support of the Bob Ross Founda-

“We are talking about that. She is one of the top three people we are reaching out to. Hopefully, she still comes,” said current Milk club CoPresident AjaiNicole Duncan, 42, a queer lesbian. Duncan happened to find online a newspaper ad for the 1980 event featuring a photo of Fonda for sale for $110 Australian dollars. (It is being sold by gay rare bookseller Douglas Stewart who was featured by the B.A.R.’s Business Briefing column in 2024 when he had a booth at the 56th California Antiquarian Book Fair and was selling Milk memorabilia among the LGBTQ ephemera on display.)

Thomas Tilson Thomas also won 12 Grammy Awards and was honored at the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for his lifetime achievements as a conductor, composer, and educator.

Symphony officials stated that they mourned the loss of Mr. Robison, whom they credited with being the person who made Tilson Thomas’ work happen.

“Michael Tilson Thomas served as music director and the public face of the San Francisco Symphony for 25 remarkable years – but Joshua was the steady and indispensable force behind the scenes who helped make it all work,” stated Priscilla Geeslin, chair of the Board of Governors (2020-present).

tion,” Leno recalled, referring to the nonprofit established in honor of the B.A.R.’s founding publisher, who died in 2003. “Tom said yes.”

Horn, a gay man who took over as publisher of the B.A.R. until 2013, said it was an easy request. Long a supporter of the fine arts in San Francisco, Horn also know Mr. Robison and Tilson Thomas. Horn is currently vice president of the War Memorial Board of Trustees.

“I was all in” Horn said of the Pride concert plan. Those concerts continued for a few years, he said.

“Michael would not have been as great a success if not for Joshua,” Horn said. “Joshua provided structural support so that Michael could concentrate on the arts. He was really Michael’s backbone.

“Joshua took all that extraneous stuff away and Michael created a great symphony orchestra,” Horn added.

Leno noted that the programming for Symphony Pride, which took place in April 2017, featured LGBTQ composers. Those included Leonard Bernstein, Henry Cowell, and John Cage. Broadway star Audra McDonald, a good friend of Tilson Thomas’, flew in and performed works by Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Bernstein, Jule Stein, and Aaron Copeland.

Leno also noted that at the time, President Donald Trump had just taken office in January of that year for his first term.

Mr. Robison was born May 13, 1946 and raised in Los Angeles. Symphony mourns loss

Tilson Thomas began his tenure as music director with the San Francisco Symphony in 1995 and served in that capacity until 2020. He ushered in a period of significant growth and heightened international recognition for the orchestra, championing contemporary and American composers alongside classical masters, the organization noted on its website. https:// www.sfsymphony.org/About-SFS/ Conducting-Staff/Michael-Tilson-

It declares under a photo of Milk “if you could see us now.” The tagline still resonates today, said Duncan, who hopes even people not Milk club members will come out for this year’s gayla or the after party, both of which are taking place at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria at 101 Henry Adams Street. (Doors open at 6 p.m. for the dinner and awards reception, tickets of which start at $150 and can be bought online at milkclubgayla. org; tickets for just the after party are not yet on sale.)

“It is going to be a lot of fun. We will have a lot of surprises,” promised Duncan.

partner, and husband, Josh was the Eveready Bunny. His impact on the SF Symphony has been profound through the exploration and production of diverse programs that meshed beautifully with Michael’s sense of adventure. He crafted the most beautiful and loving tribute to Michael for his 80th birthday, a concert we will remember as perfect in every way. And that was Josh – always striving for perfection, always bringing out the best.”

“Their partnership was extraordinary: Michael’s expansive artistic vision paired with Joshua’s insight, advocacy, and unwavering dedication,” she added. “Joshua ensured that bold ideas became realities, that relationships were nurtured, and that the symphony’s work resonated far beyond the stage.

“Together, they were deeply woven into the fabric of San Francisco itself, as much a part of the city out and about in neighborhoods and at Chrissy Field with their dogs as they were at Davies Symphony Hall,” Geeslin stated. “They belonged to San Francisco in every sense. Their shared presence, warmth, and commitment helped shape both this institution and the broader cultural life of the city. It was a true partnership, and its impact will endure.”

Sako Fisher, former board president from 2012-2020, echoed those sentiments.

“Joshua and Michael were truly the dynamic duo,” Fisher stated. “It is hard to even think of one without the other, as both were equally committed to the arts, of course especially music, but always in context of how the work they very much did together made the world truly a better place. Joshua thought deeply about community and was involved and curious about all art forms, but especially dancing. He roamed the city to see art in all the nooks and crannies and thus informed how they did their work together. Joshua never made life about himself, but always about everyone around him. He was a tireless advocate for the importance of art in everyone’s lives. Lastly, every moment with Joshua was joyful.”

John Goldman, who served as symphony board president from 2001-2012, mentioned Mr. Robison’s love of life.

“Joshua Robison was simply full of life,” Goldman stated. “His vivaciousness, energy, and enthusiasm were limited only by the constraints of time and capacity. I had the joy of sharing so many moments with Josh, especially on our international tours, and he relished every minute of each day.

“From a national gymnastics champion to a renowned dancer (especially of the Lindy Hop), to his presence as Michael’s promoter,

Looking back at the club’s beginnings, Craig told the B.A.R. it wasn’t thinking about five decades out. It was focused on meeting the political moment of the day.

“We didn’t have a 10-year plan or anything like that. But we just always worked to meet the struggle at hand and as they presented itself,” she said. “And, yes, unfortunately, the struggles continue. It’s a good thing we continue to have generation after generation of people who are motivated to be active and to join the club they believe most invests in this progressivism they want to be a part of.”

In December 2023, Mr. Robison accompanied Tilson Thomas to an unveiling of “MTT Way,” a ceremonial street renaming at the corner of Grove Street and Van Ness Avenue, next to Davies Symphony Hall. Then-mayor London Breed introduced the legislation, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors.

Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano, stated that Mr. Robison was a good friend.

“Josh was a dear friend and an extraordinary force of nature – a true mover and shaker who brought constant energy to everything he touched and was devoted to the people around him,” Cooke stated. “He poured his heart into supporting Michael, and he carried that same generosity into every relationship. I feel very lucky to have known him and call him friend.”

Memorial plans for Mr. Robison have not yet been announced. t

Obituaries >>

Michael Brady

February 13, 1952 – September 4, 2025

Michael Brady, a lifelong California Bay Area resident, passed away from a battle with colon cancer after surviving two types of lymphoma several years ago.

Mike was raised in Menlo Park, California and graduated from Woodside High School in Redwood City. He attended community college, completing course work in engineering. He worked as a public works/ construction inspector for the cities of Burlingame and Oakland. When not working, he was a member of the San Francisco Hiking Club and enjoyed reading and cooking.

In the 1970s, Michael spearheaded the creation of the Gay Student’s Union on the Stanford University campus. The group provided a safe space where LGBTQ+ students could gather and share their common experiences. He was influential in encouraging the dean to place the second casting of George Segal’s Gay Liberation Statue to celebrate gay rights and commemorate the Stonewall Riots on campus after it was deemed too controversial for the city of Los Angeles.

Michael was greatly affected by the AIDs epidemic and the friends he lost, including his partner, Roy, who died in 1990. Michael will be missed by his friends and family.

As for Milk, Ammiano said he believes he would be “enormously pleased” to see that the political club bears his name and by what it has achieved.

“He was not one to shy away from using the word gay or asserting what our rights should be. I think he would be very comfortable with it and probably be tickled it would be named after him,” said Ammiano. “Unfortunately, we had to lose him for this to happen. I think that shows you can kill the messenger but not the message. The Harvey Milk club has continued with that message.” t

Widespread Awareness of Corporate Pullback

89.61% of respondents have noticed companies reducing or pausing their LGBTQ+ support in the past year - an overwhelming awareness of the trend.

Massive Consumer Response to LGBTQ+ Support

90.48% view companies’ positive LGBTQ+ stance favorably, (71.43% very positively + 19.05% somewhat positively.)

93.07% are more likely to support companies that stay outspoken despite backlash.

94.8% are more likely to support companies that actively advocate for LGBTQ+ policies beyond just advertising.

Severe Purchasing Consequences

95.24% would take action against companies that reduce LGBTQ+ initiatives: 55.41% would stop buying entirely 39.83% would reduce spending

90.39% react negatively when companies drop Pride sponsorships (61.57% would actively avoid.)

Multi-Pronged Consumer Activism

When companies walk back support, respondents would:

79.20% stop buying their products/services

76.11% actively support competitors who maintain LGBTQ+ commitments

57.96% sign petitions for corporate LGBTQ+ inclusion

37.61% voice concerns on social media.

Betty Yee, the former elected state controller, also had critical words on the topic. “I think there’s a little bit of scapegoating these people,” she said, referring to LGBTQs.

Gardner and Williams generally asked each candidate the same questions, but time constraints prevented them from asking all of them about Newsom’s suggestion Democrats “pivot” in how they talk about the queer community.

Trans issues

On issues affecting the transgender community, all of the candidates spoke in support. Tom Steyer, a billionaire who’s self-funding his campaign, was the clearest on the matter of trans girls and women playing on female sports teams, a contentious issue in California and across the country. Several states have passed bans on trans athletes, while California attempted a compromise last year regarding high school sports. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has launched investigations into some colleges who had trans women on their sports teams.

Steyer, who said he has played sports “my entire life,” said, “I strongly feel trans people should participate in sports.”

“I come back to how vulnerable and stressed trans youth feel,” Steyer said.

“Sports is some form of community.”

Xavier Becerra, who served in Congress, as California’s attorney general, and as health and human services secretary in the Biden administration, said he has long fought against discrimination.

“I’ll protect it the way I did when I was attorney general,” he said of issues such as trans people participating in sports.

“Health care and education are not the prerogative of the federal government. The Constitution left health care, education, and public safety to the states. Ob-

<< HIV-positive seniors

From page 1

Gap in care continuum

At the February 18 meeting of the Disability and Aging Services Commission, seniors living with HIV told commissioners what they described as a hole in the city’s HIV safety net. The city’s population of people living with HIV continues to age. According to the most recent HIV epidemiology report, for 2024, 75% of the 15,400 people living with HIV in San Francisco were aged 50 and up, while 48% were aged 60 and up that year.

viously, there are some constraints if you take federal money, [such as] Medicare. I know the law.”

Porter said that she’s had conversations with health care companies and parents over providing gender-affirming care to trans youth.

“We need to provide state funding for this,” she said, pegging the cost at about $26 million. “That is a number that is out there that we can find.”

Congressmember Eric Swalwell (DDublin), advocated a “human approach” to issues affecting trans people.

“Life is already hard for a trans kid,” he said.

He was critical of President Donald Trump and his efforts to roll back rights for trans Americans.

“This president has declared war on kids,” Swalwell said, with bans against gender-affirming care that many hospitals in California and elsewhere have implemented due to the Trump administration’s threat to withhold federal funds. “We need a fighter and protector in Sacramento.”

Candidate Antonio Villaraigosa,

As far back as 2010 a report on HIV and aging in San Francisco had flagged the lack of local resources for older adults living with HIV, as the B.A.R. previously reported. The report was a joint project between the city’s HIV Health Services Planning Council, which advises the health department, and the San Francisco Mayor’s Long Term Care Coordinating Council, which makes recommendations to the aging department.

“Although the population of older people living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco is approaching a majority, an inventory conducted of publicly funded programs serving this group found no

families are encouraged to apply. Fire Department The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) is actively recruiting EMTs, Paramedics, and Firefighters to serve the City and County of San Francisco. With a proud legacy dating back to 1866, SFFD is one of the nation’s most respected and progressive all-hazard fire departments. We protect the city, its shoreline, San Francisco Bay, and San Francisco International Airport. SFFD operates California’s largest Community Paramedicine program, delivering compassionate care to all communities, especially our most vulnerable residents regardless of socioeconomic status. Our highly skilled and diverse workforce reflects the communities we serve through firefighting, EMS, and multilingual public education and disaster training in English, Cantonese, and Spanish. We are currently recruiting for H2 Firefighter, H3 Level 1 EMT, and H3 Level 2 Paramedic. Bilingual candidates are encouraged to apply. Join a department rooted in tradition, driven by innovation, and committed to equity and public safety. Apply today at sf-fire.org/join. Police Department Join the SFPD! Come join a highly respected police department and serve the citizens of one of the most beautiful cities in the country. San Francisco Police Officers perform a wide variety of duties to promote public safety and security, prevent crime and enforce the law. From Fisherman’s Wharf to Golden Gate Park and from Nob Hill to the Tenderloin, whether we’re on foot patrol, horseback, or in squad cars, investigating felonies, responding to emergencies or leading classes on public safety, we’re working with you to help keep our community safe. Be the force our community needs and make a positive difference in our citizens’ daily lives. This is more than a job; it is an opportunity to build a career of which you can be proud of. Starting Salary Range: $119,262 - $164,164. APPLY TODAY AT JOINSFPD.COM! Apply to join the Civil Grand Jury Volunteer to make a difference for all San Franciscans. We are accepting applications for the 2026-2027 Civil Grand Jury now

to vote no. (A section of DOMA has since been repealed by the U.S. Supreme Court; in 2022 then-President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed what was left of DOMA.)

Porter said that she’d “give myself an A.” Swalwell, who said his record on the Human Rights Campaign’s congressional scorecard has been 100%, gave himself “an A for ally.”

Steyer touted an endorsement from gay Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood), who is a former executive director of EQCA. “For me, the question is what people in the community think,” he said.

Thurmond noted his work on behalf of the community. “I’m a work in progress,” he said. “I’m not going to sit on my laurels.”

Villaraigosa gave himself an A+.

to withdraw by the Friday, March 6, filing deadline.

And it was brought up at the LGBTQ-focused forum. The candidates were asked if they would endorse someone else if they dropped out of the race.

Becerra, polling at 5%, said it was interesting that the candidates most often mentioned as ones to possibly drop out were people of color such as himself. He declined to endorse someone else.

Porter said she was “worried about the two Republican thing,” but added that she’s polling at the top of the Democratic field. She’s polling at 13%, according to the survey.

and

a former state Assembly speaker and mayor of Los Angeles, said that he has been an ally to the LGBTQ community for decades.

“I started at the beginning,” he said, rattling off support for early legislation providing rights to LGBTQ Californians. He also said that as mayor, he removed trans women prisoners from the men’s jail.

“I continue to be at the forefront,” Villaraigosa said.

As for the threat of the state losing federal dollars, Villaraigosa said the way to combat that would be to backfill the cuts with state money. “We have a $300 billion-plus budget,” he said. “Budgets are a statement of values.”

Grading themselves

The candidates were asked at the outset to grade themselves with the LGBTQ community in mind.

Bacerra didn’t assign himself a letter grade, but pointed out that when he was in Congress, the House voted on the Defense of Marriage Act, which limited marriage to between one man and one woman. He was one of 67 representatives

programs and no dollars allocated for targeted programs,” noted the report.

“Although there are a few support groups through community-based organizations that exist for older people living with HIV/AIDS, the number is inadequate and limited in that these groups primarily targeted older gay men. No services from any funding stream targeting other demographics were identified.”

One of those who spoke at the recent Disability and Aging Services Commission meeting was Jesus Guillen, a gay long-term HIV survivor.

“We are part of the first generation growing older with HIV,” he said. “I ask

The San Francisco Transgender Alliance for Health Resources’ capacity building assistance, at the San Francisco Community Health Center, would lose 50% of its budget, an amount of $139,000.

SFAF estimates that the total in proposed cuts to HIV-related programs, services, and capacity building amounts to $1.32 million.

‘Every day is a new horror’

The commissioners heard extensive public comment about the $17 million in cuts February 2, and more on March 2, including from Justice Dumlao, part of the HIV Advocacy Network, who spoke on behalf of Lyon-Martin’s program.

“I really hope you all can find some creative ways to make this work in the budget,” Dumlao said. “It might require more political willpower and pushing back on the powers that be but I think it’s really, really critical we do that on behalf of our community, and the community showing up here today.”

Paul Aguilar, a gay long-term HIV survivor who works as the long-term survivor community liaison for aging services for SFAF and co-chair of the HIV and aging subcommittee for Getting to Zero, also spoke, acknowledging the commissioners’ difficult choices, but nonetheless urging they do what they can to prevent cuts.

The city has its Getting to Zero pro-

Yee said she’d give herself an A. “I’m a lifelong ally,” she said.

Polling, tough question

A poll released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California shows a statistical tie between Democratic candidates Porter, Swalwell, and Steyer and the two Republicans, Hilton and Bianco. The five poll between 10% and 14%. The rest of the Democratic field polls at 5% or lower, according to the PPIC survey.

The strong showings by Hilton and Bianco have left many Democrats worried that two Republicans could win in the June 2 primary, shutting out Democratic contenders in a deep blue state. Under the state’s open primary, only the top two finishers, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the November 3 general election. That concern was evident at the recent California Democratic Convention in San Francisco, as the Bay Area Reporter noted.

In a rare move, on Tuesday Rusty Hicks, chair of the California Democratic Party, urged struggling candidates

myself sometimes how to keep helping our communities. We are just about 74% of the people living with HIV over 50 years old, but we have 6,000 HIV longterm survivors who have lost their families and friends and who live isolated and lonely at their homes.

“… We need to find out all these people who live by themselves at home who sometimes nobody even knows, and who die alone at their homes,” he added “… We have to remind everyone we are very much lacking people interested in geriatrics and think about ways to study, or do short-term studies, to help our communities.”

gram that aims to reduce HIV transmissions, AIDS deaths, and stigma. The hope had been to reach that goal by 2025, but the program is ongoing.

“I know this is not easy, but San Francisco cannot claim to prioritize health equity while cutting very lifelines for these most vulnerable citizens,” Aguilar said. “I urge you to find ways to mitigate the damage that this is going to bring, because people are going to die from these cuts. … These will end up with deaths.”

Ande Stone, community mobilization manager at SFAF, spoke about the trans-centered program that would be cut at the community health center.

“Particularly for the trans services program, this is a moment when much of our community are under attack and the actions we take here locally, particularly with what we fund or defund, reverberate in the community,” Stone said. “Folks are hearing about these cuts, they’re definitely afraid right now because of what’s happening at the federal level and instead of being defended, what they’re hearing on the local level are more cuts.”

Following public comment, Commissioner Susan Belinda Christian, a lesbian who is the body’s only out member, thanked the commenters for showing up, and said that while the cuts have to happen now, perhaps the future can be different.

“This is painful for us not only to have to make a decision about it – but it’s painful to us as people in the commu-

Swalwell, polling at 11%, said, “I’ve made the decision to win. We’ve built the biggest coalition and I need all of you on the team.” He referenced his place at the end of the debate stage back in 2019 when he briefly ran for president. “I’m now in the center of the stage,” he said. Steyer, who’s polling at 10%, said that there were “a lot of people in this race that I respect.” He did acknowledge that if he had to endorse one of the other candidates, it would be Yee.

Thurmond, polling at 2%, said that he’s run two statewide campaigns for state schools chief and won each time despite millions of dollars spent against him.

“My team has already seen a path to victory,” he said, though he did not elaborate.

Villaraigosa, polling at 5%, said he would support Yee and Thurmond. Yee, also pulling in 5% support, said she would support Villaraigosa and Steyer. Of the former, she said he’s been the “biggest champion” and of Steyer, she said, “He brings something new to the race.”

For highlights of the forum, go to nbclosangeles.com.

To view the forum, go to KNBCTV’s YouTube channel at https://tinyurl. com/2wbcf728. t

Paul Aguilar, another long-term survivor since he was 25, said, “We are still here.”

“God willing, this year I will be 63 years old and I’ve got to be honest, I never expected to be a senior citizen living with AIDS,” he said. “I’m not alone in this. … We face unique and compounding challenges. We battle chronic inflammation that commonly leads to health conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.”

Several years ago, the B.A.R. spoke with Aguilar and other long-term survivors about gaps in their continuums of care. t

nity, as who we are, and so I’m a visibly Black, probably visibly queer, woman, who came here for all of those reasons.

When I was growing up in Ohio, I knew I was going to live in San Francisco,” she said. “This is an unprecedented situation we all find ourselves in – every day is a new horror and we are just absolutely absorbing body blows day by day. We have to find ways to move forward in a different way.”

The San Francisco Community Health Center didn’t return a request to comment for this report.

More cuts loom

Tsai lamented the news that more budget cuts are on the horizon, too, saying, “It’s not a joyful time at the moment, even though our community and everyone on our team loves what we do every day.”

Lurie’s office issued guidance in a February 27 memo to the department that, “The department’s proposal should include $20 million in ongoing savings derived from internal staffing reductions and $20 million annually from CBO contract reductions, as well an additional $5 million contingency proposal of CBO contracted reductions to ensure sufficient savings proposals to close the deficit.”

Lurie is directing departments to eliminate some 500 positions in city government to save about $100 million as the city faces an $877 million budget shortfall over the next two years, and $400 million in federal budget cuts.  t

by Jim Piechota

Springtime in San Francisco is just on the horizon, and the literary world is heating up as well. Plenty of newly published books will intrigue, as we present a varietal selection of fascinating fiction titles, engaging memoirs, thought-provoking nonfiction books and a few poetry and pictorial choices for every personality under the rainbow.

“My Lover, the Rabbi” by Wayne Koestenbaum, $18 (FSG)

Described within its pages as a “psychosexual relationship,” the push and pull between a queer man and an aging Dad-bodied rabbi is displayed across 188 explicit chapters in poet, critic, filmmaker, and essayist Koestenbaum’s new novel, his first in nearly twenty years. The novel’s unnamed narrator is obsessed with his overtly sexual, roller-coaster relationship with a man known only as “the rabbi.”

As the lascivious chapters incrementally become longer and more profuse in detail and camp potential, there are also celebrity cameos involving folks like Stephen Sondheim and others tossed in for kicks. For those with readerly patience and an eye for more uniquely queer literature, it becomes quite clear that theirs is no ordinary romance, but instead, something much more ornate, intellectually nuanced, and, as the rabbi declares, “flamboyantly alive.” www. us.macmillan.com

“Bloom” by Robbie Couch, $28 (Gallery Books)

Young adult novelist Robbie Couch breaks new ground with this emotional tale about an elderly

gay man who has lost his way after grief engulfs him. Narrated from three points of view: the elder, his stepdaughter, and their talking houseplant, Jade, the story involves Morris Warner who has become unmoored after the death of his husband, Fred.

While whimsical at times, the prose is effervescent, poignant, and relevant, carrying the storyline along thanks to the multiple (and meaningful) perspectives which Couch is quite adept at depicting. The emotional depths of loss and the recovery process involved after the death of a loved one are significant and affect everyone; Couch has crafted a story that is both beautiful and blooming with reclaimed life after love. www.simonandschuster.com

“Alphapussy” by Gina Gershon, $26.95 (Akashic Books)

In Gershon’s outstanding collection of anecdotes and reflections from her wild and unconventional life, fans will learn a great deal about the actress apart from her iconically campy role as Cristal Conners in the film “Showgirls.”

Gina Gershon will appear in-person for an on-stage Q&A with Peaches Christ and a movie screening at “Night of 1000 Showgirls” at the Castro Theatre on Thursday, April 2, at 8PM. Tickets: www.PeachesChrist.com

“Dream Facades” by Jack Balderrama-Morley, $28 (Astra) For fans of reality TV, this architectural tour of the houses featured and utilized as sets on America’s most popular programs is a must-have. Balderrama-Morley, managing editor at Dwell magazine, provides a knowledgeable and comprehensive discussion of the million-dollar houses that make these reality shows so fabulous and the psychology behind the facades viewers fall prey to as they watch and evolve into hardcore fans.

This is an unapologetically stylish deep dive into the thrill, the spectacle, and the true representation of the outrageous mansions as seen on reality television. astrapublishinghouse.com

She discusses her tomboy phase in her youth, playing sports with the boys growing up in Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley. The most provocative stories occur in Part III, after Gershon’s wideeyed trip to the Playboy mansion while in junior high school, random quaalude adventures, a trip to Chippendales armed with a fake ID, and acting school at NYU. Her deep dive into performance roles both in LA and New York City provide a gossipy closing section disclosing the raw details about her numerous celebrity encounters. These stories simply have to be read to be believed. www.akashicbooks.com

AA stunning “All My Sons” at Berkeley Repertory

by Jim Gladstone

heartfelt humanism strides alongside a bitter critique of the military-industrial complex in Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” now playing in a brawny, compassionate revival directed by David Mendizábal at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Miller trusts that intelligent middle-class Americans –both the characters in his scripts, and the folks likely to watch them in the theater–are capable of holding more than one idea in their heads at a time, of painfully wrestling with ethics rather than merely barking dogma.

Joe and Kate Keller (Jimmy Smits and Wanda De Jésus) are the parents of two WWII veterans, Chris (Alejandro Hernandez) and his revered older sibling, Larry, who’s been missing in action for three years and assumed dead by all but his mother.

Joe, played by Smits with a charm that’s equal parts avuncular and cunning, owns a thriving company that once manufactured engine parts for the U.S. Air Force. Several years prior to the play’s action, more than 20 pilots died as a result of faulty parts produced by the firm. Joe and Steve Deever –his business partner and nextdoor neighbor– were arrested.

Joe was released in short order. Steve, never

seen on stage, remains imprisoned years later.

Like some Greatest Generation “Blue Velvet,” the Kellers’ superficially sunny suburbia (Anna Louizos’ finely detailed backyard set is right out of Norman Rockwell) writhes with underlying survivors’ guilt.

Kate has been slowly eroded by her dedication to denial of both her husband’s crime and her first-born son’s death; Chris is haunted by the loss of his brother and years of repressed suspicion about their father; and Joe tries to lighten the weight on his shoulders through effortful magnanimity.

While the entire cast is strong, De Jésus and Hernandez deliver especially noteworthy performances; their characters are composed on the surface but gnarled beneath; strenuously well-mannered time bombs resisting their own inevitable explosion.

When Chris announces his intention to marry Ann Deever (Mayaa Boateng), the one-time girl next door who’s also the daughter of Dad’s ex-partner and the former sweetheart of his own big brother, it sends their intertwined clans into a dizzying, unstoppable downward spiral.

Miller boldly challenges audiences to consider the exponentially enmeshed fates of individuals, families, neighborhoods, countries, and

“Devout” by David Archuleta, $29 (Gallery Books)

While on a recent Christmas singing tour in his native Salt Lake City, former “American Idol” Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta became sick to his stomach when coming to terms with singing about God. He finally acknowledged that “the magic was gone,” though, by that time, his coming-out process had already begun.

This is just one exceptional anecdote among many in Archuleta’s liberating, moving, revelatory memoir about coming out from a religious upbringing and living

by Jim Gladstone

Boo. As in: a partner with whom to canoodle in the dark.

As in: a jump scare that tightens your grip on said partner.

As in: my unvarnished critical opinion of “Paranormal Activity,” a touring production now manifesting at A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theatre through March 22.

On opening night, there were folks in my row who relished taking the show in through anxiously interlaced fingers, occasionally emitting yips of startlement, and cowering against fellow theatergoers’ shoulders.

Clearly, there’s fun to be had for cuddle-inclined and the horror-infatuated at this expensively-mounted brand extension of the similarly titled seven-film franchise that began in 2009.

But for those audience members who are sensibly (cynically?) armored against belief in the supernatural and don’t find horror to be an inherently entertaining genre, the slow build and limited logic of “Paranormal Activity” will leave mouths agape only in yawnderment. It barely ekes out an eek.

Simply scary

The plot of “Paranormal Activity” is cobweb thin. Atmospherics supersede character development, and stagecraft is the star: The lighting

are

The four-character script, written on assignment by Levi Holloway, is centered on a young, recently married couple, Lou (Cher Alvarez) and James (Travis A. Knight), who have recently moved to a new home. Both characters start out generic but end up toxic; late-emerging character flaws make them virtually impossible to empathize with as the show reaches its denouement. Without empathy, the horror feels hollow: Bad things happen to bad people. Are audience members expected to delight in this comeuppance?

A few years ago, I saw the short-lived Broadway production of “Grey House,” another Holloway script, which featured a much larger cast led by a mesmerizing Laurie Metcalf, a more complex plot, and direction by Tony-winner Joe Mantello.

That show demonstrated a more sophisticated literary style, with an array of symbols and allusions to engage the audience in detective work and poetic parsing from start to finish. There was a sense of mystery alongside elements of horror. There’s little mystery to “Paranormal Activity,” it’s got a scare-lull-scare B-movie rhythm, with the lulls growing shorter as the show progresses. There’s not an invitation to ‘figure out’ what’s going on. You’re a rider, strapped in.

‘Witchy Ways’ A lesbian romance with a

by David-Elijah Nahmod

Jane Clark’s “Witchy Ways” is a delightful romance with, as the title implies, a witchy twist. In the film, Eve (Diora Baird), a mortal woman, and Danni (Marem Hessler), a lesbian witch, fall in love. But their path to true romance does have a few bumps in the road along the way.

Eve is staying at a rural cottage which is owned by Danni. The reservation for the cottage was made by Eve’s mom, who has died in the very recent past. Eve is in a lot of pain, and her best friend Penny (trans actress Candis Cayne) is urging her to have an affair as a way of getting over her grief. Danni, meanwhile, has a lot on her plate. Her house is being haunted by the ghost of her little sister Nina (Ava December Martinez) and her neighbor Robbie (Marc Price) wants the house gone because he blames his own sister’s death on a spell that had been cast which went horribly wrong.

As all this unfolds, Danni reveals her witchiness to Eve and the two begin to fall in love, with Penny’s blessing of course.

“Witchy Ways” is a charmer from start to finish. It’s a story about finding one’s soulmate while dealing with grief. It’s also a story about friendship, the lovely friendship between Eve and Penny. It’s a tale of the supernatural, about a witch who wants to live a normal life.

The cast is marvelous, with Baird

and Hessler displaying a great deal of chemistry. Whether they’re just flirting with each other as they do early on in the story, or making love as they do later on, the screen sizzles whenever they’re onscreen together.

Though Penny is a supporting character, Cayne adds a nice touch to the story. Cayne started out as a drag performer, and after a few years she realized that she was really a woman and transitioned. She’s been performing ever since.

Cayne has enjoyed some high-profile roles, first gathering national attention when she played Carmelita on the ABC drama series “Dirty Sexy Money.”

She also had a recurring role on the Sy Fy Channel’s “The Magicians.” She has in fact worked extensively in television, appearing in episodes of diverse

programs like “Sordid Lives: The Series,” “Elementary,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Drop Dead Diva,” “Nip/Tuck” and many others.

In an interview with the Bay Area Reporter, Cayne spoke of her life as a trans woman in the entertainment industry, and, of course, about “Witchy Ways.”

David-Elijah Nahmod: So you’re really having an impressive career.

Candis Cayne: I am really thankful for the opportunities and the work that I’ve been able to have and do. Just being able to get out there and show the world who I am and who my community is.

Going back to the beginning of your career, what inspired you to

start performing in drag?

I was a dancer and an actor. I grew up in Maui, Hawaii which has an amazing community theater program. Directors come from all over the world, and amazing performers, and they put on these really mindboggling productions.

One year, right after my senior year of high school, they did a production of “La Cage Aux Folles,” so my dear friend Kalani and I auditioned and we got into the chorus. That was the first time I ever did drag. We had to wear fishnets, and leotards and wigs, and weirdly enough it felt natural to me. My first thought of being trans was probably around seven, but back in the middle ages we didn’t know what it was or even to think about doing anything about it.

Queer, there, and everywhere

by Gregg Shapiro

Ask any queer person, and they will tell you that we are virtually everywhere. Next door, across the street, holding political office, on the pulpit,

on stage, in movies, in books, and on TV, falling in love in hockey rinks, even performing with The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, as is illuminated in gay director Paris Barclay’s documentary “Billy Preston: That’s The Way God

Planned It,” about the titular, late, gay, singer/songwriter and keyboard player.

Take “World’s Gone Wrong” (Highway 20), the blistering new album by longtime ally Lucinda Williams,

When I was onstage performing, I knew I wanted to be a performer. It just felt so naturally perfect to do this in drag. I started doing drag and I was able to hone my skills and to enjoy my career and life through performance, and that’s kind of where that inspiration came from. Watching Cyd Charisse in “Singin’ in the Rain” and wanting to be like her inspired me to dance and perform.

What’s your advice to young trans girls, or trans guys, who are struggling with coming out?

My advice is move at your own pace, you’re not in a rush. Make sure that you have a tribe around you that supports you, especially in these times. I’m fortunate that I live in the bubble of Los Angeles, but we’re in dire times in the trans community. Don’t do anything that’s going to put yourself in harm’s way. Realize you’re a unicorn and there’s a reason that only one percent of the population is like us. Because we’re meant to inspire humanity and to show people what it’s like when you’re able to fully understand you’re humanity. And realize that you’re special and loved.t

Read the full interview on www.ebar.com.

“Witchy Ways” is now streaming on Tubi TV and Prime Video. www.tubitv.com www.witchywaysmovie.com

Music with rainbow connections

for example. The song “Low Life” was co-written by queer singer/songwriter Adrianne Lenker (along with other members of her band Big Thief). Despite its title, the song is one of the lighter-hearted tunes on the album. Williams addresses the dreadful state of the country on songs including “Punchline,” “Something’s Gotta Give,” “We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Around,” “Freedom Speaks,” as well as the title track and “How Much Did You Get For Your Soul?” A true highlight is Williams’ cover of Bob Marley’s “So Much Trouble in the World,” on which she is joined by Mavis Staples.lucindawilliams.com

Throughout most of her recording career, as a member of Buckingham Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, and in addition to her solo work, Stevie Nicks has written or co-written a number of the most unforgettable and still popular songs. She also recorded her fair share of cover tunes, including “Some Become Strangers,” which can be found on the Super Audio CD reissue of her 1985 album “Rock A Little” (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab).

the massive hit single “Talk to Me.” www.stevienicksofficial.com

Gay, gender-queer, Canadian musician Owen Pallett first came to our attention when they recorded under the moniker Final Fantasy (listen to “He Poos Clouds”). Pallett joins Nick & June (Nick Wolf and Suzie-Lou Kraft), a former romantic partnership that has remained a creative one, on the lushly orchestrated and dramatic “Husband & Wife,” the closing track on the duo’s new album “New Year’s Face.” Pallett isn’t the only guest artist on the album. The Antlers join Nick & June on two tracks: “2017” and the exquisite “Pinker Moon.” www.nickandjune.com

Co-written by The Williams Brothers (aka twins Andrew and David Williams, nephews of crooner Andy Williams), the song also appears on the duo’s 1987 album “Two Stories.” David Williams came out as gay in the mid-1990s. Of course, Stevie and her queer fans have had an ongoing love affair for years (see “Night of 1000 Stevies” or queer filmmaker Todd Stephens’ “Gypsy 83”). On “Rock A Little,” Nicks takes the club energy of “Edge of Seventeen” and blows it up to become a dance diva on full-fledged bangers “I Can’t Wait,” “If I Were You,” and “Sister Honey.” The album also includes

Occasionally, the queer presence on an album is visual, not audio. Previously unreleased until now, “Who You Been Talking To” (High Moon), the long-shelved second album by blueeyed soul-folk singer/ songwriter David Forman features photography by the late gay photographer Peter Hujar, a majority of which are featured in the 23-page booklet that accompanies the vinyl reissue.

Recorded nearly 50 years ago, the distinctive songs (most of which were co-written by David M. Levine) are so timeless they somehow sound ahead of their time. Standout cuts include “Painted In A Corner,” “Losing,” “A-Train Lady,” “We Both Talk Too Much,” Let It Go Now,” “Little Asia,” and “Thirty Dollars.” It would be remiss not to mention that Forman’s first album, an eponymous effort, was released on Arista Records, a label run by gay music exec Clive Davis. www.highmoonrecords.comt

Hump! Film Fest at Brava

by John McDonald

Awild lineup of sexy sexual and amusingly erotic short and feature films returns with the spring edition of Hump! Film Festival, as part of its international spring tour. After 20 years of bringing independent, genrebending adult cinema to the big screen, Hump! now receives so many incredible, festival-worthy submissions that one lineup a year just isn’t enough.

This new Spring collection is the first half of the 2026 program, and it’s filled with jaw-dropping artistry, laugh-out-loud moments, and daring scenes.

For some, the idea of sitting in a movie theater full of strangers watching porn might still register as taboo. For others, it’s a night out; part art show, part social experiment, part communal release.

That tension is exactly what has fueled the enduring popularity of Hump! Film Festival, the longrunning, proudly sex-positive touring event founded in 2005 by author and queer activist Dan Savage. This spring, as part of its national tour, Hump! brings its mix of explicit short films, humor, kink, and DIY creativity to San Francisco, screening March 5-14 at Brava Theater.

Film phenom

Hump! is not a traditional porn showcase. Films are limited to five minutes, performers are unpaid by design, and the emphasis is on originality, consent, and imagination rather than glossy production or industry norms. Over the years, the festival has become something of a cult phenomenon, attracting couples, queer audiences, artists, the sex-curious, and longtime fans who see it less as pornography and more as participatory culture.

“It’s kind of weird to go to a film festival and watch porn with a bunch of strangers,” said filmmaker Stray Gunsmoke, whose work is featured

<< All My Sons

From page 11

ultimately all humanity.

At moments, the playwright verges on sermonizing, but Mendizábal and his cast successfully steer clear of melodrama and mawkishness.

in this year’s lineup. “But actually, it’s not that weird.”

Gunsmoke has attended Hump! in Portland, Oregon for the past five years, drawn to the way the festival reframes sex, often wrapping explicit acts in humor, narrative, animation, or camp. In many of the films, sex feels almost secondary to tone and point of view.

Their first submission is a lighthearted short about a gay couple seeking a third partner to explore double penetration. The three-minute film carries a deliberately blunt title: “2 Dicks, 1 Butt.”

Amusing inserts

Adult performer Corey Dawson appears in the film. No stranger to explicit content, Dawson has previously worked with studios including Boycrush and Broke Straight Boys and, like many performers today, maintains an OnlyFans account.

“There’s a certain level of vulnerability that goes into something like this,” Dawson said, adding that double penetration is physically demanding. “It’s not just about showing up.”

At just over three minutes, the film comes in well under the festival’s five-minute limit. Gunsmoke said the shoot was intentionally relaxed and minimally staged.

“We just went with the flow,” they said. “We wanted it to feel natural, not

lyhooed: Mendizábal’s much-publicized conception of the Kellers as a Puerto Rican family.

overly choreographed.”

That ethos reflects the broader Hump! aesthetic. Out of more than 240 submissions, only 24 films were selected for this spring’s tour. The lineup spans a wide range of styles and sensibilities — from campy sendups of religious imagery to animated transgender dragons, from tender queer intimacy to lesbian pain play.

For many filmmakers, Hump! also represents a leap into unfamiliar territory.

“This is something I never really thought I’d do, but I’ve always been curious about,” Gunsmoke said. “I even created a pseudonym because I don’t know how this might affect the other work I do.”

That tension between visibility and privacy, art and sex, liberation and risk has long been part of Hump!’s appeal. Over two decades, the festival has carved out a space that resists shame while refusing commercial porn’s rigid formulas.

Hump! will screen in 45 cities across three countries this spring. In the early days, all the submissions were destroyed at the festival’s conclusion, now they are preserved for future generations to enjoy.t

Hump Film Festival $20-$25, March 5-14, Brava Theatre Center, 2781 24th St. humpfilmfest.com

a rationale for the choice.

No matter, though. “All My Sons” doesn’t need re-envisioning to feel relevant. This is a rock-solid production of a great American play.t

Oddly, the least impactful element of this production is its most bal-

<< Paranormal Activity

From page 11

The new normal?

While such a move offers welcome representation and may provide fine fodder for academic theorizing, Miller’s original script is unaltered, and no palpable new subtext emanates from the staging. Even an essay in the show’s printed program struggles to articulate

‘All My Sons,’ through March 29. $25-$135. Berkeley Repertory, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. www.berkeleyrep.org

What I wish we could figure out, as a culture, is how to better support original new works of theater rather than leaning on already familiar brand-name intellectual property.

Did anyone need Harry Potter on Broadway? “Stranger Things”?

“Kim’s Convenience” was a play before it was a long-running Canadian television sit-com, but it only showed

up on the A.C.T. stage after its Netflix success. “Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical,” an A.C.T. premiere, was a nostalgic good time, but so were its theatrical predecessors “Motown: The Musical,” “MJ,” and “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations” (Nurtured at Berkeley Repertory). By no means do I want to single out A.C.T. as a villain here. It’s a sad situation when even one of the country’s most esteemed non-profit regional theaters feels so heavily reliant on borrowed interest. Theater needs more

government support, more philanthropic support, and, most importantly, more audience support. For every jukebox musical, TVor-film-to-stage adaptation, or revival production you attend, commit to buying tickets to an original new work. Make it part of your normal activity.t

‘Paranormal Activity,’ through March 22. $25-$130. A.C.T.’s Toni Rembe Theater, 415 Geary St. www.act-sf.org

by Michele Karlsberg

Russ López moves effortlessly across genres and roles, nonfiction historian, academic scholar, fiction writer, editor, and publisher, yet his work is unified by a singular purpose: to tell the truth about people and the places they inhabit.

Whether he is documenting the LGBTQ history of Boston and Provincetown, analyzing the relationship between the built environment and public health, or crafting short fiction grounded in longing and displacement, López approaches every form as a vehicle for understanding.

Beyond the page, López is a vital force in the literary community. As founder and editor of LatineLit and founder of Shawmut Peninsula Press, he has helped amplify voices that too often remain unheard, while continuing to publish his own widely acclaimed fiction and nonfiction.

Michele Karlsberg: Your new book, “Provincetown Stories,” is a collection filled with diverse, eccentric, and often deeply human characters. What was your approach to character development for such a wide cast?

Russ López: I thought it was extremely important to include the town’s broad range of people, and one thing they all have in common is that they want to be respected for who they are. So that was my starting point: how do they demonstrate their dignity, how do they want to present themselves to the world, and what do they value about themselves? Once I figured out what made a person tick, it was easy to build their world around them.

The town itself feels like a character in the book. How did you go about capturing Provincetown s personality in your writing?

I believe that an author must immerse themselves in a time and place. P-town is lovably independent and proudly off kilter. The challenge is to not get so entertained by the eccentricity splashing you in the face that you forget to observe and remember what is happening. If you spend

<< Spring Books

From page 11

authentically in the now at age thirtyfive. Much of the memoir concerns the singer’s complicated relationship with his father, and how it affected the decisions he’d made (or avoided making) as he grew into the man he is today.

Lesson learned, and readers will cheer him on in droves. This is a candid and thought-provoking queer self-portrait suitable for fans of the talented singer or for fearful readers questioning their sexuality. Don’t miss it. www.simonandschuster.com

“Field Guide to Falling Ill” by Jonathan Gleason, $28 (Yale University Press)

Gleason’s dynamic essay collection details his life as a queer man navigating a precarious health care system that extolls both benefits and hazards simultaneously. In one piece told through a series of letters, Gleason sympathizes with Gaetan Dugas, the French flight attendant who was mistakenly labeled as Patient Zero during the AIDS epidemic, while fretting over his own HIV test.

Gleason’s opinions and perspectives will certainly resonate with every reader, regardless of age, sexuality, or race. This is an important book for anyone suffering with chronic illness who finds themselves at the mercy of a merciless healthcare system. www.yalebooks.yale.edut

Read the full reviews on www.ebar.com.

enough time in P-town, it enters your blood. You hear, see, and feel it in your heart. Then it is just a matter of tapping into your core to let the words flood out.

Were there any stories that were particularly difficult to write or that evolved significantly during the editing process?

The hardest story in the book to write was “The Return,” a story about a man who couldn’t go back to Ptown for decades because his grief for his partner who died of AIDS was too strong. As a gay man of a certain age who lost so many friends and loved ones in that horrible time, there are places I can’t visit to this day without shedding tears. To me, P-town is also a place of melancholy loss. Just about everyone in my cohort knows this feeling. As this story grew, my feelings of sadness increased, but I kept on writing the story out of respect for the departed. This was just one small way to honor those we lost.

Your work showcases a broad spectrum of queer, Latinx, and other underrepresented identities. How do you balance representation with storytelling without falling into tropes?

I hate being stereotyped, so I try not to fall into stereotyping myself.

As an editor, I find that writers often resort to tropes when they get lazy or because they don’t care enough to respect a character’s individuality.

To capture P-town, you have to write about everyone. I obviously don’t have firsthand experience with what many of my characters have faced. So to overcome that limitation, I had to listen to them. Not just what

they say when rattling off the party line on something, but more importantly, listen to what they gossip about, what they say when they are making private remarks about someone or something, and what they say when they are relaxed and want to tell you their personal history or when they are nervous about something and anxiety is shading their words. I let my characters live their reality. I just chase after them to write it all down.

The book has been described as a “love letter” to Provincetown. What would you say back if Ptown could write you a letter in return?

I don’t want P-town to ever end. A thousand years from now, I want a place where people spontaneously make out with strangers on the benches in front of town hall. I want to be able to see overweight hairy men proudly strut down the street in tiny bathing suits and high heels.

I want artists, drag queens, and fishermen’s wives to block the aisles of the supermarket as they complain to each other about the town going to hell because someone painted their house the wrong color. Change is inevitable, but I hope the town stays eccentric. Provincetown is my home. It is my muse. If I stopped writing about it, I would feel like I was abandoning the love of my life. I vow to write more books on Ptown.t

Read the full interview on www.ebar.com.

www.russlopez.com www.latinelit.com