Will SF Mayor Lee
Fly Trans Flag From City Hall?

The San Francisco Office of Protocol, which handles when the flagpole off the mayor's office balcony facing Civic Center will fly flags other than the American flag, lacks a transparent request process. Since the spring, I and other activists who've been advocating for public control of the flagpole at Harvey Milk Plaza, have pressed Mayor Ed Lee for transparent rules governing his balcony flagpole. Our requests for that info have produced naught.

Yesterday, I read the above rant from transwoman Robin Summers Mitchell at the San Francisco TDOR Facebook page (since removed), in which she mentions the mayor and displaying the trans flag from City Hall on November 20, Transgender Day of Remembrance. Robin's note prodded me to email the mayor and his five press officers, asking why he was undecided about flying the trans flag on Tuesday and a copy of the request process rules.

I soon received a reply from Cecilia Chung, transwoman whom the mayor appointed to the powerful Health Commission in April, in which she showed greater concern for the mayor and his staff than in advancing a transparent process:

I believe it has already been a great victory that you have fought and won on behalf on the Trans community to fly the flag in Harvey Milk Plaza. Sadly, because of the media coverage around the incident, most of the community has thought the flag raising in Castro is this year's Transgender Day of Remembrance.

As you are fully aware, the Trans community has worked hard to advocate and to create our own community and space through consensus building. The idea of possibly raising the Trans flag in City Hall to bring the focus back to November 20 came actually from me but I see no reason to announce it to the whole world and the since the TDOR will gather in front of City Hall on Tuesday, I will have Monday to discuss with the Mayor.

I appreciate your impulse to advocate on our behalf when things does not seem to be moving, but Mayor Lee has a long history of working and advocating of Trans rights since he worked in the Human Rights Commission and to compare diplomatic relationships with community requests is like comparing apples and oranges.

Whether Mayor Lee decides to fly the Trans flag or not, the community does not wish for you to use this as an opportunity to put him, his staff City Hall or the community in any awkward position.

My reply to Cecilia laid out the concerns of Bill Wilson and myself of finally persuading the city to develop transparent and equally-applied rules for public access to the Milk Plaza and mayoral flagpoles. Unfortunately, Cecilia's hush-hush request shows she is not interested in larger public property access issues, or advancing a transparent request process for everyone not just mayoral appointees with access to his staff.

In no way am I questioning Cecilia's credentials as a transgender and HIV leader. Heck, earlier this year when she was a POZ cover girl, I sent her congratulations for the honor and her years of strong healthcare advocacy. What I am questioning is her commitment to transparency and putting queer public property issues before mayoral warm fuzzies.

The flag request is essentially about her having a meeting with Mayor Lee, looking out for his back and her moving up the political ladder, while using the flag request as the vehicle. I see no reason why sunshining all of this should in any way dissuade the mayor from doing the right thing, and if it is, well, then it's just one more problem on the very long list of problems stemming from opaque flagpole policies.

Why should the Ts get something from the mayor while the LGBs can't get their calls returned and questions answered? This is not just about the trans flag commemorating TDOR on Tuesday at City Hall, and I sure hope the mayor takes down the SF Giants flag and replaces it with the trans flag. The battle for reclaiming important city-owned tools on municipal grounds paid for by taxpayers is the larger issue here.

Transparency advocates could really use the support of the transgender community for our agenda of making flagpole use fair and equal for all.

Open Mic, No Pols
at Trans Flag Raising at Milk Plaza?

Tommi Avicolli Mecca and dozens of grassroots activists today staged a sit-in, literally, with plastic lawn chairs and the installation of a wooden bench, at Harvey Milk Plaza to protest the recent removal of purple benches lining the walkway.

A bunch of us queers got to talking about Monday's raising of the trans flag at Milk Plaza on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance and what we most want to see at the event.

After a blessing from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and speeches from trans folk about all the transgender people killed in the past year, we would like for there to be an open mic session. Let's hear from anyone who feels the need to speak and keep everyone other than trans leaders to a 2-3 minute time limit, just like at public comment during City Hall hearing.

We don't want to hear from opportunistic politicians including the likes of Scott Wiener, Mark Leno, David Campos, Ed Lee, or any other elected. They have plenty of chances to raise trans issues in Sacramento and at City Hall. There is no need to give electeds a platform to spout off and pursue votes for their next elections.

Considering that the Sisters and all the politicians haven't done a damn thing to create equal access to the flagpole on public property, and they haven't stood up to MUMC's bullying about controlling the flagpole, it's beyond hypocritical for these folks to now show up at the flag raising when if things were left to them, there wouldn't be the trans flag flying at the plaza tomorrow night.

No one I spoke with was pleased that Terry Bennett, owner of Cliff's Variety and president of MUMC, who insulted trans folks for an entire month ignoring Veronika Fimbres' request to use the pole for TDOR among other acts of stupidity, is listed as the media contract for the flag raising. What gall.

For two years, Benner and MUMC have done everything to divide the community over equality in terms of using the city-owned flagpole, and now they are the press contacts.

The insanity of these control issues and how MUMC irrationally make decisions about the flagpole will be on full display Monday evening at Milk Plaza. See you there.

Weekend Woof #17:
Mix of Gay and Straight Guys

I have more photos of fine fellas to share this weekend, and these guys are a mix of gay and straight and very pleasing to look at. Many thanks, fellas, for standing still so I could capture you with my camera.

Lemme introduce you to Larry, a youngish friendly straight dude who sells flagpoles and offers expert advice to folks like my colleague Bill Wilson and I, about the 21 foot portable flagpole he sole us. Larry owns Bolander's Company with his dad and mom. Bill and I will soon debut the pole in the Castro neighborhood.

This handsome mature gay man is Michael, who owns the Sweet Inspirations Cafe on Market Street in the Castro gayborhood. Not only does he serve the best freshly made (sinfully delicious) desserts, his cafe also offers truly tasty coffee to go with the sweets. Michael is quite a dish himself in the flesh.

Say hello to thirty-something Dylan, who owns the Woodhouse Fish Company restaurants in the Castro and Fillmore. He may be straight, but he's always been open to receiving my compliments about his good looks. I included the top photo of him pretending not to notice me snapping away because it shows what a goofy kid he can be at times.

Previous batches of woofy dudes are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. 

Weekend Woof #16:
Straight Biker Boys

Last weekend's edition of attractive guys didn't happen because I took a break from this series, but that doesn't mean I've been lax about snapping photos of guys. Let's get to today's young fellas who please my queer eye. I know they're straight because I've either met their girlfriends or they've disclosed the info when I've asked.

Remember WW#15 and pix of Erik from Box Dog Bikes? Well, he's not the only sexy straight boy working there. Say hello to furry Dan, who has been helping me with my biking needs for years. Most recently Dan filled my medicine ball with air and posed for my camera.

This handsome smiling dude is Ian and in recent months, he's taken care of tuning up my bike's brakes and keeping the air in the tires are their proper levels. A fast and reliable repair guy, Ian always earned my gratitude for his work and his grin.

I think Robert was finishing up his shift, which is why he's wearing a nice clean shirt free of grease and grime. It's a good thing I don't have to choose a favorite biker boy at Box Dog Bike because they're all so cute I just wanna squeeze them!

Previous batches of woofy dudes are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Milk Plaza Pigeon Abatement Update

(DPW's Steve Shih, left, and Luis Agurto of Pestec.)

The Department of Public Works, the Department of Public Health and Muni, along with the transit system's contractor for anti-pigeon work Pestec, are all responding to my renewed complaints regarding the return of pigeons and their foul poop at Harvey Milk Plaza.

I am pleased to report they are all communicating and coordinating with each other, and working diligently to prevent the birds from roosting at Milk Plaza's streetlight, pictured, at the Castro and Market crosswalk.

On Wednesday afternoon, I met up with DPW's Steve Shih and Pestec's Luis Agurto and we inspected the Market and Castro intersection, to see which spots need to have spikes installed.

I thought it was just the cables and streetlight at Milk Plaza requiring spikes, but Steve and Luis noticed other spots where the birds roost and poop. They pointed out the streetlight near the Muni shelter, pictured, on Castro in front of the Twin Peaks bar.

On 17th Street, between Jane Warner Plaza and the other side of the Twin Peaks bar, Steve and Luis pointed out another streetlight and more cables, pictured, where the pigeons currently gather, with their excrement landing on the sidewalk and plaza.

Reports will be written up about the inspection and recommended courses of action will be proposed to all the city agencies involved in this matter. I'll keep tabs on suggested solutions and hope that our Castro neighborhood will be much improved by the end of the year with spikes in place to deter the pigeons and eradicate the health menace posed by their poop.

Big thanks to Steve and Luis for coordinating their site visit with me and for moving on my complaints. Sames goes for all the folks at DPW, DPH and Muni working toward an acceptable abatement of the pigeon problems.

60 Kinksters Attend
Eagle Tavern Meeting

I've got a follow up report to my post last week promoting a forum about the reopening of the Eagle Tavern and associated kink community issues South of Market. Last night, about sixty men and one woman attended a robust and wide-ranging two-hour discussion at the Beatbox Club on 11th Street. There was a diversity of ages and kinky interests represented, but lacked ethnic variety and everyone was putting forward creative do-able ideas and positive vibes.

Many thanks to the Beatbox Club co-owner Brian Kent for making his space available, to Demetri Moshoyannis, pictured right in blue shirt, for facilitating the meeting with a gentle touch that allowed attendees to set the agenda and keep it moving. Much gratitude to Eagle owners Mike Leon and Alex Montiel for engaging the community for ways to make the new venue a success for them as businessmen and for the kinksters of all stripes.

First off, Mike and Alex hope to be open before the new year dawns. They have all of the necessary permits and are purchasing equipment. A booted Daddy wants male bootblacks on duty at beer busts, which may happen on Saturdays and Sundays unlike in previous times only on the latter.

Since men in fetish wear and gear come to SOMA to enjoy a few bar and venues and not just the Eagle, a shuttle van to safely get guys around the neighborhood was proposed.

Other ideas dealt with organizing leather, social and biker club nights, offering soft drink specials at beer busts for our sober brothers and sisters, reviving Thursday night live rock music events that were wildly popular with straight people. Everyone agreed we want our straight friends to come back and feel welcome.

City Hall has a number of significant planning and land-use changes in the pipeline that will further dramatically gentrify the Folsom Street and 11th Street corridors. They include amending some historical preservation designations, constructing additional condos, developing new small businesses and turning Folsom Street into a two-way street. That last item was news to lots of us.

I suggested transforming the Eagle into a private sex space on a slow night, charging nominal membership and entry fees, an idea that received nods and murmurs of approval. The sticking point would be determining state liquor laws and keeping the booze locked up on sex nights, hopefully rendering the bar free of liquor-and-sex prohibition statutes.

Demetri broached the topic of DJs and their eclectic tastes in alt or 70s punk or classic rock styles, and that it seemed to keep the customers happy. This gave me the chance to say how I don't go to Blow Buddies as often I'd like because the thumping bass music and loudness detract from my primary agenda of oral sex. My suggestion to Mike and Alex was to retain the policy of high-volume speakers inside the bar and a lower sound out on the patio so guys can cruise and talk at the same time.

Toward the end, wealthy gay man Tom Taylor, who really controls the flagpole and flags at Harvey Milk Plaza on behalf of MUMC bosses, said he wants to donate the old Leather Pride flag to the Eagle. Leather leader Steve Gaynes explained that MUMC will no longer fly the black-and-blue kink flag in September and someone suggested erecting a 70-foot flagpole somewhere in SOMA and flying the kink flag from it.

Finally, there was general agreement to create a fabulous future for the Eagle, its patrons and the SOMA neighborhood, with a deep commitment honoring our collective kink history and our friends and lovers who have passed away.

Here's a short video I shot early in the meeting:



Big thanks and hugs to all participants who make last night the best community forum I've been to all year. We could use more meetings like it.

Jesus Saves Clay Theatre;
John Waters Aiding Roxie Cinema

Two of San Francisco venerable single-screen theatres, the Clay over in the Fillmore and the Mission's Roxie, in recent years have faced numerable threats to their survival and thankfully continue to operate.

I was one of twelve people on Tuesday night at the Clay's 7:00 PM showing of "Sister", an excellent film with strong echoes of Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne's modern neo-realism style. "Sister", directed by Ursula Meier, is Switzerland's submission for the best foreign language Oscar and well-worth catching on the big screen because of the elegant cinematography by Agnes Godard.

The Clay's marquee advertised Sunday religious services with the Calvary San Francisco church, so I asked the theatre's staff for more info. They told me the church has been holding services for several months now and that the income from the rental is keeping the theatre open.

Considering the paltry number of folks at the prime showing on Tuesday, it's a good thing to have Calvary San Francisco utilizing the Clay. Praise the Lord and pass the popcorn!



Across town, the perennially fiscally challenged Roxie has launched a Kickstarter campaign to pay off $60,000 in debt. As of today, they've raised $14,300 and have until December 14 to secure the rest of the money needed to keep the theatre operating.

Legendary director John Waters is helping out. He's made a fantastic YouTube video urging folks to donate and help save the Roxie. Praise Divine and pass the "Hairspray"!

You can support the Clay and the Roxie simply by catching a movie soon at the theatres, or in the case of the latter, by making a donation to their Kickstarter effort. Let's keep these movie palaces in business.

DPW: $500 Fee
to Delete More Castro News Racks 

(The mostly empty news rack on 17th Street abutting Jane Warner Plaza in front of Twin Peaks Bar.)

More rallies and social events are being held at Jane Warner Plaza in the Castro, attracting hundreds of people in addition to the high number of pedestrians walking through the public space which also serves as a street car area for the F line. If the plaza had to evacuated and the crowd made to exit toward Castro Street, the useless pedmount above would impede a quick and safe evacuation.

Something to bear in mind as I continue my campaign to rid the Castro of this street furniture clutter, and have the Department of Public Works, Clear Channel and publishers consolidate a few remaining pedmounts in fewer location. 

I've contacted DPW's Grace Moore, who's in charge of news racks, about deleting more pedmounts just like the one that was taken out at Harvey Milk Plaza on Monday.

If you want to reclaim the Castro's public sidewalks for the public, please contact Grace via email or phone and let her know you want more pedmounts removed as quickly as possible. Her email is Grace.Moore@sfdpw.org, and you can leave vmail for her at this number, 415-554-5892.

Maybe Castro merchants, who would benefit from more foot traffic unimpeded by the pedmounts, can raise the $500 fee to remove more of them. This is Grace's latest info:

You may request the removal of “qualified” pedmount units to be removed at a cost of $500 ea. Through the consolidation process, the 5 units (listed below) have been identified by DPW and approved by publishers as pedmount units in the Castro area that qualify.

Unit # 117 
MARKET ST: SANCHEZ ST 

Unit # 118 
SANCHEZ ST: MARKET ST 

Unit # 124 
MARKET ST: 16TH \ NOE to 17TH \ CASTRO 

Unit # 139 
CASTRO ST: 18TH ST 

Unit # 160 
4121 - 18TH: CASTRO to COLLINGWOOD 

If you’re interested in pursuing the removal of any of the units listed above, I will notify the affected publishers and ask Clear Channel Outdoors to schedule a date and time for it to happen before year end. 

Parties interested in the removal of pedmount units at other locations should notify me. 

I've told Grace I'm very interested in more removals and hope to hear from her soon, about the response she receives from the publishers.

New Italian Cinema
at Embarcadero Theatre till Nov 18

The San Francisco Film Society launched its 16th annual survey of recent Italian movies last weekend and the mini-festival continues until November 18, and as always the slate of new works promises many pleasures. I wish there were enough time to catch all of the remaining films to screen over the next few days.

Two of them are of keen interest, starting with "The First on the List". Here's the synopsis from the program notes:

Set against Italy’s political upheaval in the late ‘60s, this lighthearted comedy follows three young potential revolutionaries who become convinced that there’s going to be a military coup and set off for the border . . . [and] combines screwball comic flair underscored by sly political satire.

The other film high on my list is "100 Meters to Heaven", pictured, and just reading the thumbnail description made me chuckle:

Monsignor Angelo is concerned that the Church is losing touch with the common man. Teaming up with his childhood friend and running coach Mario, they decide to form a Vatican Olympic team to compete in London’s games . . . this charming and spirited comedy details the pair’s difficulties with conservative Church authorities and their worldwide quest to find ten talented athletes to help build the team. 

Many of the films lack U.S. distributors and so your only chance to see them is during the New Italian Cinema event, down at the Embarcadero Theatre. In addition to the films, several directors and actors are expected to attend a few of the screenings. 

Click here for more info on the films, showtimes and to purchase advance tickets.

Victory!
Empty News Rack Deleted at Milk Plaza

My first post about the useless pedmounts gobbling up too much of public sidewalk space was published in July 2009. Following up in August 2011, I blogged on the twelve mostly empty news racks cluttering up the Castro's pedestrian-congested sidewalks and called for deleting some, while consolidating others.

After three years of kvetching, the Department of Public Works and Clear Channel have finally removed one pedmount from the Castro. This effort also involved the support and strong advocacy of Andrea Aiello of the Castro Benefit District and pushing from Supervisor Scott Wiener.

BEFORE: Here is what pedmount number 133, on the right, looked like last year on the edge of Harvey Milk Plaza and Castro Street.

AFTER: And this is how the plaza looked yesterday afternoon when I took this photo.The former pedmount was deleted early yesterday morning.

BEFORE: This is a shot of the backs of the then-two pedmounts at the plaza last summer, when they had lighted ad space on their rears.

AFTER: Here is what the same part of the plaza looked like yesterday, after pedmount 133 had been removed, so had the lighted ad shell on the remaining pedmount.

It feels so satisfying to reclaim a small piece of public space back from Clear Channel and to have more room on the sidewalks for the public.