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Serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities since 1971
Vol. 52 • No. 42 • October 20-26, 2022
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Fabian Echevarria
The city has paused its charitable giving program for employees after learning that several anti-LGBTQ hate groups are included in it.
Manager Tina Aguirre said the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District has largely recovered from an accounting error made by its fiscal sponsor, the San Francisco LGBT Community Center.
Castro cultural district hit by fiscal sponsor’s $108K error
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Bears and barbells at Bearrison
by Eric Burkett
P
eople had fun at the Barbells, Bears, and Butts Deadlift competition that was part of the second annual Bearrison Street Fair produced by the Bears of San Francisco and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Hirsute men and their admirers were part of the inclusive event for all members of the adult
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he Castro LGBTQ Cultural District has largely recovered from a $108,000 accounting error made by its fiscal sponsor, the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. District officials said that the snafu, apparently the result of human error, did make life challenging over the summer. Cultural district manager Tina Aguirre, a genderqueer Latinx person, said they had been notified of the mistake in early July. That error was “a manual miscalculation of unspent grant funds,” according to the community center, which handles the cultural district’s accounting. The LGBT community center has acknowledged and apologized for the mistake. “The center has served as the fiscal sponsor of the Castro cultural district for two years, and we’ve worked tirelessly to support the growth of such an important cultural institution,” wrote Miguel Raphael Bagsit, the center’s communications manager, in an email to the B.A.R. “The financial error occurred due to a manual miscalculation of unspent grant funds. We’ve expressed our deepest apologies to the Castro cultural district’s leadership team and have continued to move forward with our partnership.” The error led cultural district staff to believe they had more funds than they actually did. Coupled with a directive by the cultural district’s funder – the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development – to spend down funds before the end of the fiscal year, what was thought to be a $108,000 windfall turned out to be a major headache. That spend-down included distributing $90,500 on LGBTQ Pride-related events, stated Aguirre in an email to the Bay Area Reporter, as well as distributing $30,000 in a second round of small business grants. The problem, of course, was that the district didn’t actually have that money. “Because we believed that we had a large surplus, we created a spend down plan for FY 20212022 and a draft organizational budget for FY 2022-2023 that was in excess of what we actually See page 12 >>
by Eric Burkett
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oncerns about the final destination of money contributed by San Francisco city employees to a nationwide charity clearinghouse, or federation, has resulted in the city pausing a website used to promote the charitable giving after it was revealed there are anti-LGBTQ groups on one of them. See page 12 >>
Palm Springs readies for Halloween, Pride by Ed Walsh
T
ourism in Palm Springs has rebounded with a vengeance, surpassing pre-pandemic records in both hotel occupancy and arrivals to Palm Springs International Airport. Tourism officials say that while there are still fewer international visitors, domestic travelers have more than made up for that difference. LGBTQ travelers were among the first to return to the desert city and they returned early and often. Palm Springs’ gay resorts are often sold out even during the quieter weekdays. That may sound like a good problem for the resorts to have but Michael Green, who owns the very popular Triangle Inn along with his husband Stephen Boyd, told the Bay Area Reporter that he is hopeful that the unprecedented demand for gay resorts will soon be satisfied with other properties being developed. “Some people have said that the gay resorts would fade away, but just the opposite has happened,” Green said. The resort owner added that he hoped that gay travelers won’t become frustrated and get out of the habit of visiting the city because they aren’t able to find a room at a gay hotel. The formerly gay resorts Bearfoot Inn and La Dolce Vita were sold and closed late last year, while the downtown Canyon Club Hotel is in limbo in a legal dispute after one of the owners died. Green said he is hopeful that
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LGBTQ+ community, organizers noted. Held Saturday, October 15, at 11th and Harrison streets in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, the fair promoted body positivity for all and works to build a more supportive, welcoming, and inclusive bear scene by representing a diverse arena of cultures.
SF pauses charitable program for workers over anti-LGBTQ groups
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Ed Walsh
Destination PSP founder Jeffrey Bernstein stands next to a display of dinnerware in his shop.
plans by the owners of Descanso and Santiago to convert the Twin Palms resort into a gay resort would proceed quickly to help meet the growing demand. The new Twin Palms is expected to open sometime next month.
Fall in full swing
Fall is in full swing in Palm Springs. The city hosted the lesbian-focused weekend, The Dinah, and the LGBTQ film festival, Cinema Diverse, last month. Palm Springs Leather Prideº is October 27-30. The Desert AIDS
Walk steps off from Ruth Hardy Park in Palm Springs at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 29. The traditional Halloween block party will be held on Halloween Eve, Sunday, October 30, on E. Arenas road just east of Indian Canyon Road, where most of the gay nightlife is situated. Palm Springs Pride is November 4-6, highlighted by a parade that Sunday that steps off at 10 a.m. at Palm Canyon Drive at Tachevah Drive and ends at the festival entrance at Amado Road. See page 12 >>
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