Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, announced the endorsement of five openly LGBTQ+ champions for local offices across California. The endorsements come just 76 days before the November 3, 2020 election.
Oakland City Council, At-Large: Rebecca Kaplan Tracy City Council, At Large: William Muetzenberg San Francisco Community College Board: Tom Temprano San Francisco Community College Board: Shanell Williams Desert Healthcare District 2020, Zone 1: Dr. Les Zendle
Names shown in bold indicate an openly LGBTQ candidate.
Equality California released the following statement from Executive Director Rick Chavez Zbur:
“Equality California is thrilled to officially endorse Rebecca Kaplan, William Muetzenberg, Tom Temprano, Shannell Williams and Dr. Les Zendle. They have shown themselves to be incredible advocates for our LGBTQ+ community and the diverse communities to which we belong. We look forward to the election of each of these candidates in November and urge everyone who can to vote for these amazing trailblazers.”
For a full list of Equality California’s 2020 endorsements to date, visit eqca.org/elections.
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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ+ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ+ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org
Multiple wildfires are burning in the greater North Bay. Cal Fire is referring to them collectively as the LNU Lightning Complex. LNU stands for Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, and you can find the latest evacuation info here. A map of the fire is available here. The biggest fires are:
Hennessey Fire (merged with Gamble, Green, Aetna, Markley, Morgan, Spanish and Round): Napa County, 299,763 acres, 33% contained
Walbridge Fire (merged with Stewarts): Sonoma County, west of Healdsburg, 54,923 acres, 17% contained
Meyers Fire: Sonoma County, north of Jenner, 2,360 acres, 97% contained
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The LNU Lightning Complex in California’s Wine Country saw minimal spread overnight, growing from 356,326 acres to 357,046 acres, according to Cal Fire’s Wednesday morning status report.
Before nightfall, containment stood at 27%. This morning it is at 33%.
The LNU Complex started as a group of blazes sparked by lightning strikes more than a week ago. As fires merged, it grew into a monstrous inferno, leveling California’s parched landscape and incinerating homes. The third-largest fire in California history, the LNU Complex is spread across five counties: Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Solano and Yolo.
Crews were focused on increased fire activity outside the town of Middletown in Lake County overnight. Crews are setting backfires and using bulldozers and hand crews to solidify containment lines.
“If you look at that whole northern portion of the fire that’s going into Lake County is where we’ve been putting our efforts to wrap around it,” Cal Fire public information officer Chris Bridger said Tuesday night. “You have Calistoga down below it and Middletown above it. There are a lot of residences in there. That portion of the fire was our priority today, and we’re working to get lines wrapped around that area.”
KTVU reported that aircraft were unable to take off from the Cal Fire heliport in Lake County on Tuesday due to active fires and thick smoke.
“Firefighters performed what is called a backfiring operation,” KTVU reported. “Backfiring operations are fires deliberately set so that the fire burns up the hill instead of down the hill where it has an open field run toward Middletown.”
“This is the last, most difficult part of the fire,” Chris Waters, the Cal Fire operations section chief, said at a Tuesday press briefing. With good weather conditions over the next few days, he’s hopeful crews will make progress by the end of the week.
The number of homes destroyed continues to grow as ground crews conduct investigations in burn areas. The latest count is more than 978 structures destroyed, 256 damaged and 30,500 threatened.
Crews have gained containment of the fire in recent days with cooler temperatures, humid conditions and stable winds suppressing fire activity and allowing firefighters to build containment lines. A huge win came on Monday when the North Bay dodged thunderstorms moving across Northern California; the lightning and erratic winds in the forecast never materialized.
The fire has taken five lives and injured four civilians.
Cal Fire has reduced some evacuation orders to warnings, and many evacuated zones are expected to be repopulated in the coming days, Cal Fire officials said Tuesday. For full evacuation orders and changes, visit here.
FEMA and the California Office of Emergency Services announced survivors of the numerous wildfires across Northern California may now register for financial assistance from the federal government. Funds will go toward home repair and replacement, rent, and other miscellaneous expenses. Visit DisasterAssistance.gov/ for more information.
Find more evacuation details below:
Sonoma County: Find latest evacuation information at SoCo Emergency.
No matter where you live, catastrophe can strike without warning. Even if you’re not susceptible to hurricanes or floods, you could be at risk for unpredictable disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, chemical spills or even a house fire. Alice Moon-Fanelli, Ph.D., a certified-applied animal behaviorist with Animal Behavior Consultations in Brooklyn, Connecticut, can attest firsthand that crises happen when you least expect them. Several years ago, her chimney burst into flames. “My husband yelled at me to get the cats,” she says. “The crates were in the cellar. Who plans on having a nightmare? As soon as the carriers came out, the cats disappeared.” So, how do you evacuate with cats?
How to evacuate with cats? Start by planning ahead.
Get your cat acclimated to her carrier before disaster strikes. Photography by Kachalkina Veronika / Shutterstock.
According to the American Kennel Club, approximately 500,000 pets are affected by house fires every year. In the event your kitchen catches fire or you’re ordered to evacuate, you need an emergency plan in place that includes your cats.
Jim Carson, who has a cat named Indiana and dog named Heidi, also had a close encounter with a house fire. At 1 a.m., firefighters woke him up, concerned that a nearby house fire could spread to his home.
“I kept carrying cages in the front closet,” he says. “It was quick and efficient, and I would never think about keeping them anywhere else. The outside situation was chaos and the animals were scared to death. I was able to put them in the car and out of harm’s way. I have no doubt that if they weren’t in the cages they’d have bolted.”
The Electrical Safety Foundation International suggests attaching a pet alert sticker to a window near your front door. If you get outside without your cat, immediately tell firefighters your pet is trapped inside. Don’t go back in once you are outside.
When you evacuate, never leave your animals behind even if officials promise you’ll only be gone for a few minutes. If it isn’t safe for you, it’s not safe for your cat. A few minutes can expand into weeks before you’re permitted to return.
Dr. Dick Green, the senior director of disaster response for the ASPCA, says because disasters such as train derailments or earthquakes provide no warning, “we have to be dependent on preplanning. Anticipate. If you get word of a nearby wildfire, put [your pet] in the safe room with his toys, food and bed.
How to get your cat safely in his carrier during an emergency:
Cats can be challenging to catch during an emergency because they instinctively hide from danger. Of course, the best-case scenario includes a well-trained cat trotting into his carrier. However, since most cats associate the appearance of the carrier with the vet, they hide. Instead of bringing the carriers out first, slip a cotton pillowcase over the cat. Once he’s in the pillowcase, slide him into a carrier and head for safety.
Because your animal may not be able to hear your voice over alarms Herb Carver (aka The Catastrophe Geek) recommends training your cat to respond to a whistle. If you’re unable to catch him, you can whistle to him in a disaster’s aftermath.
Just like fire drills in school, go through the motions occasionally, says Lynn Molnar, founder and president of Thankful Paws mobile food bank for pets. “Know where you will drive to be safe,” she says. “Pick several locations, just in case something prevents you from taking your preferred route. If you have a plan and stay calm, your cat will too. They take their emotional cues from us.”
Be proactive if a disaster like a hurricane or flood is even a possibility.
When you are given a lot of warning time, as with a hurricane or rising floodwaters, be proactive. Take a day of vacation and leave the potentially affected area early. You won’t need to take as many supplies. A three-day supply of cat food, water and cat litter should suffice. Your destination will have grocery stores.
Survival Weekly’s Jim Cobb warns shelters may require proof of immunizations, so have a complete copy of those records in your evacuation kit.
If your community doesn’t have an emergency shelter for people and pets, start the conversation now, and ask about how to start one. There are lots of pet people out there: As soon as one person speaks up, other people will join in to help!
Make sure your cat has identification.
Your cat should wear current rabies tags and a name tag engraved with your cell phone as well as a relative’s number. Should you become separated, his ID tags will provide information that can reunite you. But remember collars can come off, and with them your pet’s identity.
A microchip ensures your pet will never become separated from his ID. And equally as important as implanting the chip is registering it and notifying the registry whenever your contact information changes. If your pet doesn’t have a microchip, keep a picture of him on your cell phone for identification purposes.
Prepare an evacuation kit.
Each pet needs his own carrier and a “go bag” with everything he’ll need during an evacuation. Keep emergency provisions in sturdy containers that can be carried easily (plastic tub, duffle bags, covered trash containers, etc.). Tape the checklist below to it. Make note whenever you replace food, water and medications (every six months is a good method).
Your cat’s emergency kit should include:
An accessible carrier for every pet. You don’t want to have to dig under 20 years of Cat Fancy back issues in the attic when Barney Fife is telling you to leave. Carriers should be large enough for your cat to stand up and turn around in. Line the carrier floor with puppy pads or give kitty a shoebox litter box. Write your contact information in permanent marker on the carrier and duct tape his photo to it.
A photo of each of your pets and a description of their breed, age, sex, color, and markings.
Copies of your cat’s medical and vaccination records. In the event your vet’s clinic receives a direct impact, you’ve lost those records. Veterinary records may be needed for transport across state lines.
Photocopies of ownership papers and city license.
A list of phone numbers including: your veterinarian, pet-friendly motels, emergency clinic, animal poison control center, and area animal shelters.
Cat food — at least a three-day supply or two weeks, depending on your situation. If you feed wet food, look for the pouches or small cans with pull tabs, says Paul Purcell of Disaster Prep 101. ”You may be in a situation with no power for refrigeration so food cannot be stored. Duct tape a three-gallon bag filled with dry food to the side of the carrier and regularly replace old food with fresh kibble. Don’t forget your kitty’s comfort food.
Water. One gallon per pet per day.
Food and water bowls.
Harness with a D-ring for a leash. If you or shelter volunteers need to scoop the litter box, a harness gives you more control over a frightened, fractious cat who could slip out of his safety collar.
Medications. If your cat requires maintenance medications, ask your vet for a two-week supply in pills or un-reconstituted powder, or keep an unfilled drug prescription with your evacuation paperwork.
Litter box, litter scoop, preferred brand of litter, and plastic bags for poop. Aluminum baking pans make great disposable litter boxes.
Paper towels and baby wipes.
Pet first aid kit.
Comfort items. A beloved toy, blanket or bed reassures your kitty that everything is going to be OK. Place one of your unwashed T-shirts in a zippered plastic bag. It can be used as bedding and make him feel more at ease.
Brush/comb, for long-haired pets.
Tranquilizers or calming remedies. Rescue Remedy, Feliway, etc.
Odor neutralizer.
Duct tape, in case the carrier is damaged.
Have you ever had to evacuate with your cat? Tell us how it went in the comments.
The impact of COVID-19 has been difficult for the San Francisco Bay Times, as it has for so many small businesses. We are scraping and tinkering with our operation to make sure everything is efficient and tidy. The paper continues as does our online SF BAY TIMES website , Castro Street Cam , e-blast system, and our very popular Social Media. Please “like” us on Facebook .
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On Sunday August 16th, 2020, Instagram influencer Eden the Doll and her friends Joslyn Flawless and Jaslene White Rose were robbed, beaten, and chased through the streets of Hollywood.
The incident began when the women were waiting for an Uber and one of the men stole Eden’s phone. The group started throwing objects at the women as they tried to retrieve the phone and mocked them.
To make matters worse, one of the attackers posted a video of it all to social media.
The video shows passersby refusing to help as the women pleaded for assistance and laughing at them as they were attacked on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
One man who passes by stops to take multiple photos of the women in the street. A woman passing by refuses to help, saying she doesn’t see blood so it must not be too bad. A police car drives up but quickly leaves without stopping as Eden cradles an unconscious Jaslene in the street.
“This was the most traumatic thing that ever happened to me,” Jaslene posted on Instagram with photos of the attackers. “Not just the fact that I was hit by a grown man, but because there were so many men watching this happen to me and my friends. And we begged for someone to call the police, but they were too busy recording and laughing.”
According to HRC, at least 26 transgender and gender nonconforming people have been killed in the U.S. in the year 2020, and most of them are Black transgender women. Many stories go unreported in the media and police frequently misgender victims, which means that the real number is likely higher.
Transgender and gender non-conforming people are at a higher risk than other populations for violence and violent death. The HRC says “a toxic mix of transphobia, racism and misogyny” makes Black transgender women particularly vulnerable to transphobic attacks.
Mitch O’Farrell, council member of the 13th district of the City of Los Angeles released a statement pertaining to the incident. O’Farrell states “The video of three transgender women of color being physically attacked, chased, robbed, and jeered at by a hostile crowd of cisgender men and women has me infuriated-and- determined to see all perpetrators are brought to justice. I spoke with LAPD Capt. Lurie and he assured me that a full investigation has been launched and detectives are making significant progress. My office will continue to monitor the situation until there is a full resolution. Transgender women face a disproportionate amount of violence and I will continue my mission of doing everything in my power to ensure their safety anywhere in Los Angeles and in the 13th district where we welcome everyone.”
A spokesperson for the LAPD told The Pride LA that the incident was under active investigation and would be labeled a hate crime. They are also reviewing the response of officers in the area one squad car, in particular, passed by the scene with its lights activated en route to another emergency call according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore. Who also added that he planned to find out what call the first officer was responding to, whether the officer realized what was happening to the women as he passed by, whether the officer alerted dispatch to the incident and “whether or not we took appropriate action.”
Update: Two men are in custody. Willie Walker, 42, was arrested in Hollywood Wednesday and on an extortion charge, police said on Friday August 21st, and Carlton Callway, 29, was arrested Thursday on a robbery charge with a hate crime enhancement. Police said they’re still looking for 22-year-old Davion Williams, who is suspected of assaulting the victims with a deadly weapon.
Voting is now open for the 2020 History Makers Award!
The people nominated represent an incredible range of advocates, organizers, artists, community builders and more who have all made history. We are excited to have such incredible public engagement and look forward to highlighting the finalists and more folks from throughout our history at Reunion: Making History on Friday, October 16.
Click on the button below to cast your vote on the finalists and let your voice be heard. Voting closes on Tuesday August 25, 2020.
This process uses approval voting, so you can support as many people as you believe are deserving of an award. Anyone who wishes to vote is eligible. After August 25th, the top vote recipients will be presented to the GLBT Historical Society’s Board of Directors for final confirmation. The list of honorees will be announced publicly by Tuesday, September 1 and to members and gala registrants in advance. Click here to become a member, or here to register for the live broadcast on October 16th, as well as sneak peeks of early content along the way.
Interested in becoming a Sponsor or a Virtual Table Captain? Click on the buttons below to learn more about how you can get involved and help us raise funds to continue preserving and sharing our irreplaceable history.
There are six different indicators that can land a county on the watch list:
1. A seven-day average of fewer than 150 tests conducted per 100,000 residents
2. More than 100 cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days
3. More than 25 cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days AND a seven-day average of test positivity over 8%
4. A 10% increase in the three-day-average for hospitalizations
5. Having less than 20% of ICU beds available
6. Having less than 25% of ventilators available
All nine Bay Area counties remain on the list, which was previously frozen while state officials cleared a backlog of 300,000 unreported test results and disseminated new data to individual counties. While county websites still have yet to update case counts and test positivity from the past two weeks, the state’s site reports updated case figures from the past 14 days for each county.
The state site shows that not a single Bay Area county is close to coming off the list anytime soon, as all nine are well over the state’s threshold of 100 recorded cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days.
Here’s where all nine Bay Area counties currently stand:
Alameda
Cases over last 14 days: 216 per 100K residents
Other indicators marked: None
Contra Costa
Cases over last 14 days: 281 per 100K residents
Other indicators marked: None
Marin
Cases over last 14 days: 260.4 per 100K residents
Other indicators marked: None
Napa
Cases over last 14 days: 204.1 per 100K residents
Other indicators marked: None
San Francisco
Cases over last 14 days: 146.3 per 100K residents
Other indicators marked: None
San Mateo
Cases over last 14 days: 170.2 per 100K residentsMore for you
Other indicators marked: Only 11% of ICU beds available. Must have > 20% to satisfy criteria.
Sonoma
Cases over last 14 days: 266.6 per 100K residents
Other indicators marked: Only 4% of ICU beds available. Must have > 20% to satisfy criteria.
The watch list’s criteria has been criticized by Solano County health officer Dr. Bela Matyas, who said it may be impossible for his county to get off the watch list. Matyas said 95% of the county’s cases are coming from social gatherings and not reopened businesses.
“It is possible that our county may remain on the watch list for a very long time because we aren’t going to be able to change those behaviors adequately to reduce the numbers,” he said. “The cause of the outbreak is something we have very little control over.”
Democratic lawmaker Scott Wiener has been threatened with “public execution” by far-right conspiracy theorists after trying to fix a disparity in California’s sexual offence laws.
One of California’s most prominent LGBT+ officials, the state senator has faced a torrent of threats after putting forward a bill to fix a loophole that leads to discrimination against LGBT+ teens.
Under current state law it is a crime to have sex with someone under the age of 18, but judges have a discretionary power to keep teenagers off the sex offenders’ register for having sex with people of a similar age, such as a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old.
However, the powers only apply to “penile-vaginal intercourse”, which means that LGBT+ teens are liable to be added to the sex offenders’ registry for having consensual sex, where straight teens are not.
Wiener’s bill to fix the issue has led to him being smeared a a “paedophile” by followers of QAnon – the far-reaching but unfounded conspiracy theory that, among other things, claims Donald Trump is at war with an elite, international ring of Satan-worshipping child sex traffickers.
Scott Wiener has faced ‘violent, homophobic, antisemitic attacks’ from far-right QAnon trolls
One message received by Wiener reads: “You’re dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. I’ll publicly execute you. I’m gonna embarrass you. Paedophile.” Another threatens: “I’ll come cut your head off and deliver it to your mom if you even considering introducing your ‘bill’. Got it?”
In a Facebook post, Wiener wrote: “This week, I’ve been the target of violent, homophobic, antisemitic attacks from the QAnon/anti-vax right, including death threats.
“This is happening because I’m authoring SB 145, legislation to end discrimination against LGBTQ youth on the sex offender registry.
“Currently LGBTQ young people are forced onto the sex offender registry in situations where straight youth are not. This discrimination is a relic of times when gay sex was illegal. The bill is supported by major LGBTQ, civil rights, and law enforcement groups.”
State senator hits out as ‘scary’ trolls who have leaked his private information online
Wiener wrote: “I have thick skin — politics has a way of giving you that — but this has been scary, particularly with the assassination of a federal judge’s son last week.
“There is so much misinformation about SB 145 — similar to misinformation about COVID, vaccines, masks, and the like — and it’s hard to track where it starts. Those who think homophobia and antisemitism are over are not paying attention.”
The state senator is now afraid for his safety after his personal information was posted online.
He tweeted: “It’s been a dark week and today I found out that my personal information has been doxxed online by a prominent QAnon follower.
“Thank you so much to everyone for the videos of support. It means so much to me, and it’s an honour to serve this community.”
By Lisbet TellefsenTwo years ago, historian Amy Sueyoshi and I co-curated a special exhibition at the GLBT Historical Society Museum called “Angela Davis: OUTspoken,” documenting the journey of Black lesbian activist, scholar, political prisoner and public intellectual Angela Davis. A major success in 2018, the exhibition is being released as an online exhibitionon the society’s website on August 10.
A Moral Center At a moment when the concept of intersectionality is finally beginning to penetrate the mainstream, Angela Davis’s life is more relevant than ever. Davis was involved with Communist Party USA and the Black Power movement, and she’s still pushing the envelope around LGBTQ issues internationally, including places where it is not politically welcome. She is among the globe’s foremost philosophers on freedom and has always held the moral center. After a half-century, she has maintained the ability to communicate with remarkable clarity, even while engaging with complex issues of history and theory. Amy and I focused the exhibition around the most graphically impactful political posters of Davis from my personal archives. I came to build this collection through my longtime love of graphic poster design — the intersection of graphics, propaganda, politics and messaging remain fascinating to me. I collected posters as a child, and growing up in Berkeley, political graphics were ubiquitous. In fact, one of my earliest jobs in high school was at The Print Mint, which was “ground zero” for psychedelic posters and early alternative comics. It was there that I learned to run a printing press, and I went on to run a print shop for the next 30 years.
Repurposing Images Davis herself came to public prominence in the heyday of early reproductive graphics: after a full-page photograph of her appeared in Life magazine, artists around the world from Spain to the Soviet Union borrowed that image and repurposed it in different ways. Posters are very interesting media because while they are mass-produced, they still contain incredible original artwork. So when it came time to select posters for this exhibition, I chose those I felt were most impactful and represented significant ideas or events. The COVID-19 pandemic has, unfortunately scuttled plans for the largest exhibition of my career, which was scheduled to open at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University this year, and in 2021 would have gone to the Oakland Museum of California. In fact, these institutions scouted material that I first displayed at the GLBT Historical Society Museum. So it’s gratifying that “OUTspoken” will now get a new lease on life. Davis’s five decades of activism and the legions of scholars she has mentored add up to a legacy as deep as the ocean. She’s a voice that we need to center right now.
Lisbet Tellefesen has been an archivist, collector and event producer in the Bay Area for more than three decades.
Wednesday, August 56:00–7:30 p.m.Online programFree| $5.00 suggested donation A watershed moment in LGBTQ history that was almost forgotten, the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riot was rediscovered by researchers in the GLBT Historical Society’s archives decades later. This event, co-presented with the Tenderloin Museum, will commemorate the riot with a screening of Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman’s 2005 documentary Screaming Queens. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring historians, activists and Compton’s veterans who will reflect on the history of this uprising in light of the ongoing problem of police violence and consider how communities can mobilize in response. The event will also include discussion of the play The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, a 2018 theater piece commissioned by the Tenderloin Museum. Register online here.
Tuesday, August 115:00–7:00 p.m.Online programFree | $5.00 suggested donation No More Silence is an ongoing project of the University of California, San Francisco’s Archives and Special Collections. The project extracts text from digitized archival materials related to HIV/AIDS — including documents from individuals, activist and community-support organizations, medical institutions and government agencies—for use in digital-humanities projects, with the aim of bridging the gap between the empirical, scientific study of the disease and the lived experience of people with AIDS. UCSF has organized a three-part workshop from August 12 to 14 that introduces participants to basic computer-programming skills to perform work in digital history (no prior experience is necessary). Participants will apply these skills to historical documents in the collections of the UCSF archives and the GLBT Historical Society.
The workshop opens on August 11 at this joint event organized by the GLBT Historical Society and the UCSF Archives that provides an overview of the No More Silence project. A panel discussion will discuss the ways that archives and digital-humanities initiatives can support community-history efforts related to gender and sexual orientation, illuminating digital tools and techniques that can further uncover hidden narratives in these histories. The event will also serve as an orientation to the workshop, which begins the following day. More information on the workshop and registration is available here. Register for the August 11 event online here.
Friday, August 216:00–8:00 p.m.Online programFree| $5.00 suggested donation This event is a screening and discussion of Arthur J. Bressan Jr.’s groundbreaking 1977 documentary Gay USA, which vibrantly captured Gay Freedom Day marches and celebrations in June 1977 across the country. The film was beautifully restored in 2018 by the University of California, Los Angeles Film and Television Archive in collaboration with Frameline and Outfest. Film historian Jenni Olson, who guided the restoration of the film, and LGBTQ historian Don Romesburg, who co-curated the GLBT Historical Society’s online exhibition about the first decade of San Francisco Pride, will lead a conversation and Q & A session after the screening. The discussion will focus on the importance of documenting the history of Pride and encourage audience members to engage in their own community-history efforts by sharing their Pride stories and helping to identify unknown individuals depicted in the film. Register online here.
Friday, August 2812:00–1:00 p.m.Online programFree The items we collect and produce over a lifetime tell a unique story about who we are, what we value and the impact we have had over the course of our lives. The first event in a two-part series offering estate-planning tools and resources, this workshop focuses on how to prepare personal papers, photographs, objects, ephemera and other materials for possible donation to archives. Archivists at the GLBT Historical Society will share recommendations on preparing and organizing your personal archival materials and provide an overview of the considerations involved in intellectual-property transfer, focusing on areas of particular concern for LGBTQ people. This event will include a Q & A session for those who register in advance. Learn more about this series and how to plan for the future here. Register online here.
Friday, September 412:00–1:00 p.m.Online programFree Careful financial planning ensures that our legacies live on by providing for our spouses, partners, children, relatives and friends. The second event in our two-part series offering estate-planning tools and resources for LGBTQ people, this workshop focuses on a range of financial-planning strategies and instruments. Attorney Alma Soongi Beck will discuss wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, marriage and domestic partnership considerations, document language for nonbinary and transgender people, property tax and co-ownership issues for unmarried couples who are not domestic partners. This event will include a Q & A session for those who register in advance. Learn more about this series and how to plan for the future here. Register online here.
Current Online Exhibitions
Performance, Protest & Politics: The Art of Gilbert BakerExamine how rainbow-flag creator Gilbert Baker blurred the lines between artist and activist, protester and performer. 50 Years of PrideThis photography exhibition documents the evolution of San Francisco Pride, the event that most powerfully represents and celebrates the Bay Area’s LGBTQ community, over the past half century. Labor of Love: The Birth of San Francisco PrideLearn how San Francisco forged the internationally renowned annual celebration that would come to be known as Pride. AIDS Treatment Activism: A Bay Area StoryExplore the rise of and growth of the treatment-activism movement in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1980s and 1990s.
Officials in California are set to start tracking how coronavirus is spreading in the LGBT+ community in a groundbreaking move.
The state will start collecting data on the sexual orientation and gender identity in all new cases of COVID-19, making it the first state in America to do so, CBS Sacramentoreports.
The move will help officials better understand the unique challenges the pandemic poses for queer people after months of warnings from LGBT+ organisations that the community has been disproportionately affected.
The move came about after senator Scott Wiener worked with LGBT+ rights organisation Equality California to advocate for the data to be collected.
They introduced legislation in May that would require sexual orientation and gender identity data to be collected in all new coronavirus cases.
California will start collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity in new coronavirus cases.
The bill was recently amended to include all reportable diseases. It was passed by the California senate unanimously on 25 June, paving the way for LGBT+ organisations to better understand the impact COVID-19 is having on the community.ADVERTISING
It will now be referred to the Assembly Committee on Health, where it will be heard on 4 August.
If passed and signed into law, the bill would take immediate effect.
From the beginning of this crisis, we have been clear: If LGBTQ+ people are left out of COVID-19 data, we will be left out of California’s data-driven response.
Governor Gavin Newsom said the decision was a move in the right direction.
Equality California executive director Rick Chavez Zbur welcomed news that the bill was passed by the state senate.
LGBT+ community will finally understand just how bad coronavirus has hit the community.
“The COVID-19 crisis has devastated the LGBT+ community. But for months, we haven’t had the data to understand how, why or exactly what to do about it,” he said.
“From the beginning of this crisis, we have been clear: If LGBT+ people are left out of COVID-19 data, we will be left out of California’s data-driven response.
“Thanks to governor Newsom’s leadership and his administration’s hard work, we will start to have answers.”
He added: “This data will finally give our government, our public health leaders and our community an understanding of the degree to which this pandemic is devastating LGBT+ people — and what steps need to be taken to save lives.”