Saying goodbye to a fur baby
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Rogelio Lopez & Dancers
ARTS
Former Castro biz owner dies
ARTS
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It's 'Wednesday' again
The
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Serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities since 1971
Vol. 55 • No. 37 • September 11-17, 2025
Gay firefighter settles with SF by John Ferrannini
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gay Black San Francisco f i re f i g ht e r and city officials have agreed to settle his lawsuits that alleged he had been discriminated against on account of his race and Courtesy the subject sexual orientation. Keith Baraka is set to San Francisco receive $160,000 as firefighter Keith part of the agreement Baraka settled dismissing his two his discrimination employment disputes case against the he had filed against city. the city. Baraka was the first openly gay firefighter at Station 6, which is located at 135 Sanchez Street in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood, according to a copy of the 2021 complaint he filed in San Francisco Superior Court. The Bay Area Reporter had been provided it when he first filed suit. Baraka filed his second suit June 13, 2024, though the B.A.R. was unable to locate it via the court’s online case portal. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 11-0 on first reading September 9 to approve an ordinance authorizing the settlement of Baraka’s two suits against the City and County of San Francisco. Because it is an ordinance, the supervisors must vote a final time at their September 16 meeting. Alex Barrett-Shorter, deputy press secretary for City Attorney David Chiu, stated to the B.A.R. on September 9, “We believe the proposed settlement is an appropriate resolution given the inherent costs of continued litigation.” Baraka didn’t return a request for comment for this report. His attorney on the matter was civil rights lawyer Angela Alioto, the former mayoral candidate and a past president of the Board of Supervisors. “My only comment on the Baraka case would be that Keith stood up for his rights and that isn’t easy,” Alioto stated to the B.A.R. August 29. “And I applaud him for doing that, because they fought him hard. I also think it’s further discrimination for being a Black gay man by not paying him for six months [after the settlement was initially agreed to]. Six months never happens. So as I wrote the other day on a Facebook posting, I believe that not paying plaintiffs that have settled and they don’t pay them for months and months is further racism by the city and county. “It is allegedly so liberal,” Alioto said of SF. Alioto had written on Facebook August 20, “Suing the city is the most frustrating experience (I guess this is their point) because when the client wins a verdict or settles, the client does not get paid for literally five to eight months. They use excuses like, it has to go before the Board of Supervisors again or it has been sent to the Government Audit and Oversight Committee or to some other committee, and then it has to go back to the Board of Supervisors and then from the Board of Supervisors, it has to go to the mayor’s office and then from the mayor’s office, it has to go to the [Controller]... And then it takes the [Controller] ten days to sign the check.” Alioto stated that she thinks civil rights complaints should be sent to the board for approval as soon as possible. “What would it take for the City Attorney’s office to give these civil rights race cases immediately to the Board of Supervisors instead of waiting weeks and months, which, again, in my opinion, is racist,” she stated. “As the former president of the Board of Supervisors, I cannot tell you how heartbreaking it is to me to explain to clients who’ve been through hell, that they have to wait months, to receive what is justly theirs.” See page 3 >>
Steven Underhill
A drag artist read to children at the Castro Merchants Association’s Halloween block party October 24, 2024.
Castro Halloween won’t be like old by John Ferrannini
W Oakland unites for Pride O
akland Pride celebrated its 15th anniversary September 7, and AC Transit workers and supporters were enthusiastic as they marched in the Pride parade, which had the theme “In Unity, We Thrive.” This year, the festival was held in Frank Ogawa Plaza
Bill Wilson
outside City Hall. Headliners included Martha Wash and CeCe Peniston. Latin pop icon Christian Chávez, a gay Mexican singer and songwriter known for being a member of the former Latin pop group RBD, headlined the Latin stage.
hen it was first reported that the Castro Night Market would be expanded and moved to coincide with Halloween this year on Friday, October 31, some may have conjured up memories of the wild street parties that were held in the LGBTQ neighborhood decades ago. But leaders of the Castro Merchants Association want to dispel that notion. Because Halloween falls on a Friday this year, the Castro Night Market, usually the third Friday of the month, will be held on the fourth Friday of the month, as the Bay Area Reporter was first to report last month. See page 6 >>
SF LGBTQ health agency plans for future under Trump by Meg Collins
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taff at the San Francisco Community Health Center never stop moving, and certainly haven’t since the beginning of the Trump administration’s second term in January. Since H.R.1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, staff have not only seen an increase in anxiety and uncertainty, but have also had to invest more labor in ensuring their clients continue to be enrolled in their health coverage. The Bay Area Reporter had a chance to see the center’s operations and speak with several staff members and a patient at its Tenderloin Wellness Center on August 19 and 21. Several staff members expressed anxiety and stress they’ve seen from their patients, as well as personal unease they have for their patients’ health and safety. Eli Benway, a queer trans person who uses they/ them pronouns, is the health care facility’s associate director of behavioral health. When speaking with the B.A.R. in person on August 21, they said that they’d noticed more anxiety coming from their trans clients, in particular. “There’s been a lot of higher stress being reported, and folks are experiencing a lot of hopelessness, feeling justifiably more targeted,” Benway said. They explained that almost all the clients they work with are on the San Francisco Health Plan, and clients worry that this plan will be terminated. Other staff members echoed those concerns. “I think everyone is waiting for our trans folks to be kicked off of their coverage. It just hasn’t happened yet. Everyone’s nervous,” said Taylor Cuffaro, a trans nurse practitioner who heads the Street Medicine program at the center. “Insurance doesn’t dictate whether or not you can use a medication; it just dictates whether or not they will pay for it,” added Cuffaro, who uses they/them pronouns. “I know at the CHC it’s a priority to keep people on hormones, but theoretically, a health care organization could stock these medications, except for testosterone, because testosterone is a controlled drug.” They added that they fear that organizations
Meg Collins
Dr. Daniel O’Neill, chief medical officer of the San Francisco Community Health Center, worked in his office as he discussed changes the nonprofit is experiencing due to the Trump administration.
with the financial ability to supply people with testosterone will not have the clearance from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Ro Van Sloun, a queer and nonbinary staffer who uses they/them pronouns, is one of the health center’s Street Medicine case managers. “People are picking up ‘I don’t feel safe. I don’t feel welcomed here. I feel like I’m denied services.’ People are sensing that things are getting darker,” said Van Sloun, in conversation with the B.A.R., perched on a chair at their desk, with a “crisis phone,” a phone for staff to reach out when they need support with a client’s crisis. Robin, who asked that her last name not be published, is a patient at the health center. We were not able to confirm how she identifies in time for publication. Robin emphasized that the center will continue to take care of its community, regardless of federal constraints. She remembers first meeting her case manager, Van Sloun, who came to see her with a team of people and no judgment.
“The Community Health Center makes it so that you want to get clean. You want to do the right thing,” said Robin. “They care here. They look at you in the eyes and they know your name.” Rence Uson, a transgender straight woman, is the health eligibility access liaison for the health center. She clarified the center’s assistance with ensuring its patients’ enrollment in Medicaid with H.R. 1’s restrictions on eligibility requirements with the B.A.R. over email. Her work involves connecting people with the right resources for their needs. “I make sure these benefits are put into good use and stay accessible through the process of enrollment and quality improvement,” wrote Uson in an email. She noted, in a statement to the B.A.R., that the new requirements for H.R. 1 will translate to additional labor. The center is already hiring more people to be part of the eligibility team, and training current staff to check for eligibility and patient registration. See page 6 >>